Puna Rasaubale calls out Paul Gallen on Instagram. Credit:Instagram "Hurry up and sign the contract already so I can fight already boy. You say Sonny Bill is scared of you – I ain't scared of you bruz, it's time to get it on boy. November. That's when I'm free and I know you is free as well. No more time for chitty-chatter, it's time to bang-bang away bruz. "Everyone wants to see you be put on your backside cuz, by a real brother. By a real soldier. By a real boxer. I'm a street brawler cuz, I grew up on the cannibal islands of Fiji bra. "I'm going to hit ya, cook ya and eat ya, boy. Sign the contract." A fortnight ago, Gallen did just that. The former Cronulla teammates will fight at Sharks Leagues Club on November 10.

Paul Gallen says his opponent is good at "talking crap". Credit:Louise Kennerley "Some of the callouts the boys have been showing me – I don't know if he's got a script but he's unbelievable how it rolls off the tongue," Gallen said. "He's pretty good at it. Hopefully he's not as good at fighting as he is at talking crap." It would be easy to dismiss Rasaubale as the latest trash-talking pug seeking his 15 minutes of fame before he ends up on his back. However, Rasaubale has plenty of talent in and out of the ring. Up until now, it has been wasted.

A schoolboy sensation, Rasaubale was earmarked for superstardom in his teens. But instead of finding himself in first grade, he ended up behind bars. "I ended up in jail. I got locked up and Arthur Beetson got me out of juvie," Rasaubale recalled. "He bailed me out and gave me a crack and then I failed again. It was a constant yo-yo. "When I was at the Dragons with Nathan Brown, I got arrested a couple of times there too." Rasaubale's football career took him to a number of clubs including Cronulla, where he first met Gallen. It looked like he would finally make it at St George Illawarra, where he was just a fortnight away from making his NRL debut. Dragons CEO Peter Doust declined his request to represent Fiji in boxing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He did it anyway.

"I thought I'd get another club and walked out," he said. "To be honest, I got a bit ahead of myself, I thought I would make it and that every club would take me because I was too good. "I didn't concentrate and had outside influences that led to poor decisions." Drugs proved to be his downfall. The promising pivot-backrower continued to box and play footy, but never fulfilled his potential. "It's only in the last 18 months that I've been set free of my addictions," he said.

"It wasn't easy. I didn't do rehab. I was at a low point and I got on my knees and prayed." Rasaubale was at his lowest ebb when he saw Junior Paulo take it to Gallen in a wildly entertaining boxing bout last year. That was the turning point. He decided to keep calling Gallen out until he got his crack at the former NSW skipper, motivated by a desire to, at the age of 30, fulfil his purpose. Rasaubale is fighting not only for himself but his people. His mother is a chief in the Fijian Highlands where the family has 400 acres set aside. The former Fijian footballing international wants to build a sports school to help the nation's youth to ensure the next generation of youngsters don't waste their talent. "Hopefully this fight can promote his cause and something can come of it," Gallen said. "One of us will get knocked out but hopefully something good can come of this for the people of Fiji."