May 15th, 2019

May 15th, 2019

Paul Gallen has declared he would “flog” Justin Hodges and reckons his former NRL rival will never be good enough to face him in the ring.

Yet the Cronulla Sharks captain has also taken a crack at critics of Hodges’ fledgling boxing career, saying they are driven more by jealousy than concern for boxing’s image.

Hodges will tonight face Kiwi Troy McMahon on the undercard of Tim Tszyu vs Joe Camilleri in Sydney. It’s just his second pro fight yet the Queensland great is angling for a shot at Gallen (9-0, 5 KO), claiming: “He hasn’t beaten me in Origin and that’s probably why he wants to fight me.”

In an exclusive interview with Wide World of Sports, Gallen said that Hodges would never belong in the ring with him and slammed his rewriting of Origin history. Gallen famously captained NSW to a series win over Hodges’ Maroons in 2014.

“He obviously forgets about 2014, and he also forgets Slater, Thurston, Smith, Cronk, Scott, Inglis, just to name a few,” Gallen said.

“Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have those blokes in the ring with him and to fight me, he’d need them and then some.

“I’d flog him. The fight will never happen. I don’t reckon he’s got the ability to step in the ring with me.

Paul Gallen during his win over John Hopoate. (Getty)

Paul Gallen tackles Justin Hodges in Origin. (Getty)

“I don’t understand why he’s said I want to fight him because I never beat him in Origin – I’ve never said I wanted to fight him. He’s the one who said he wants to fight me and looking at his ability, I don’t reckon the fight would be allowed.

"But if he wants to keep calling me out ... like I said to John Hopoate, be careful what you wish for.

“Hodgo's first fight was his first fight [a 75-second win over 0-2 Rob Baron]; you can’t really judge too much on that. But I’ve seen some sparring footage since – he’s sparring Lote Tuqiri. Lote Tuqiri is a great bloke and a great footy player, but he’s not a fighter.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful to his opponent that he’s about to fight, but he hasn’t got an athletic bone in his body. Hodgo’s a world-class athlete, fighting a bloke like that.

“People can bag me all they want about boxing, but I’ve only ever fought professional athletes and NRL players, or people with more combat sport experience than me.

“Even Puna Rasaubale who I fought [in 2017], it was his pro debut but he had over 50 amateur fights and he was my sparring partner for years. I never had any amateur experience.”

Paul Gallen after beating John Hopoate by KO, moving to 9-0. (Getty)

Gallen has long been a boxing enthusiast and has fought professionally since 2014. He intends to have a few more fights after retiring from the NRL at the end of this season.

Footy has forced him to treat boxing as a part-time pursuit, but Gallen has taken his fight preparations extremely seriously. Past sparring partners have included “big, strong heavyweights” such as Solomon Haumono, Tai Tuivasa, Peter Graham, Ben Edwards.

Gallen said that full-time boxers complaining about NRL players earning money from fighting were missing the bigger picture.

“I don’t think I’ve ever taken the piss out of the sport at all,” he said.

“Hodgo’s opponent tonight is embarrassing for him. It’s not embarrassing for boxing. I keep seeing these people carrying on saying it’s embarrassing for boxing.

“The difference is, if Hodgo was fighting in Sharks Leagues Club in front of 300 people, no one would know and no one would care. But the fact he’s fighting on Main Event and getting paid good money for it, other boxers are up in arms about it.

“My question to them: are they up in arms because it’s embarrassing for the sport, or because Hodgo’s getting paid good money? I think it’s the latter.”

Justin Hodges makes short work of his first opponent, Rob Baron. (AAP)

Gallen pointed out that his last fight against John Hopoate featured rising star Tszyu on the undercard, fighting in front of more than 4,000 people at the venue and with 15,000 pay-per-view sales in licensed premises and homes across Australia.

“I said in the ring that night that I hope Tim Tszyu becomes a main event fighter and headlines his own show,” Gallen said.

“Sure enough, four or five months later, he’s headlining his own show. He embraced that and now he’s on his own Main Event card. How good.

“I’ve succeeded there, I’ve given back to boxing. That’s the way boxing fans should look at NRL players fighting.

Justin Hodges and Troy McMahon at their weigh-in for Wednesday night's fight. (AAP)

“The bloke Hodgo is fighting tonight is embarrassing for him. It’s not embarrassing for boxing, because he’s still bringing profile to the sport.

“Jack Brubaker, who’s trained by the same trainer is me, is fighting tonight and he’s going to fight in front of thousands of people, at the venue and at home. That’s bigger exposure than he would have got otherwise.

“Maybe if he wins he becomes a household name and headlines his own show some day. That’s what the boxing people need to take out of it.

“I can understand their frustration, but as I say about a lot of things, you’re paid what someone’s willing to pay you. If someone’s willing to pay you a certain amount of money, you’re not going to knock it back.”

Tim Tszyu is headlining a Main Event card after fighting on a Paul Gallen undercard. (AAP)

The big payday that Gallen wants is not Hodges – it’s Sonny Bill Williams, the All Blacks and former NRL megastar. Always has been. It would generate massive interest and in doing do, give a full undercard of fighters significant exposure.

“That’s the only fight I’ve ever said I wanted to have. I’ve had guys like Hodgo and Hopoate calling me out, even Junior Paulo. I’ve never said I wanted to fight anyone, except for Sonny Bill,” Gallen said.

“That’s the one everyone wants to see. I go to kids’ schools and we talk about footy, but then someone will always ask me: ‘When are you going to fight Sonny Bill?’”

Sonny Bill Williams fighting Clarence Tillman in 2012. (AP)

Hodges will get the chance to move to 2-0 tonight on an undercard littered with interesting bouts.

It will feature the pro boxing debut of former UFC star Ross Pearson, plus the latest bout for world-ranked cruiserweight Jai Opetaia (16-0, 13 KO), a southpaw who is still just 23 and has a bright future.

Tim Tszyu vs Joe Camilleri for the Australian super-welterweight title is on Main Event on Wednesday night.