If the satisfaction of beating Paul Gallen in Queensland wasn’t enough motivation, Justin Hodges just got one million more reasons to “knock out the big fella” on Thursday night.
As first revealed by News Corp, Hodges and Hannant both stand to make $1 million should they cause an almighty upset at the Nissan Arena and defeat Gallen due to a rematch clause recently inserted into their contracts.
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With a seven-figure payday dangled in front of him, Hodges unsurprisingly admits it would make victory even sweeter.
“It gives you a lot more excitement when you think of someone putting up $1 million,” Hodges told foxsports.com.au.
“It’s $1 million you didn’t have before. It obviously gives you a lot more incentive to go out there and win the fight even more.
“Like I said, I wanted to beat him and knock him out anyway. But this gives me a lot more reasons why to go out there and try even harder.”
It is a payday Hodges “wasn’t expecting”, but he’s not complaining for one second.
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When quizzed on how he’d spend the money, the Queensland legend conceded “the wife would take it” and none of it would go towards a celebratory post-fight bar tab.
But one lingering issue surrounding the finances remains.
With Gallen’s first opponent yet to be determined, there is a high chance Hodges will be forced to remain in the change rooms while Hannant gets first crack at the former Blues skipper.
Should Hannant shock the nation and beat Gallen, it would mean Hodges misses out entirely on the $1 million rematch.
Is that something Hodges is worried about?
“Not really,” Hodges said.
“I think whichever way it goes, it is what it is. I think if things are meant to happen that way, if Benny does go first and knocks him out, hopefully he might give me a bit of the prize money himself.
“But we’ll just see. It’s obviously a massive incentive for both of us, but even more so for myself to go out there and try and get the victory.
“It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be physical and that’s what I’ve been preparing for. This just adds more fuel to the fire.”
Although Hodges can land a $1 million payday for a rematch, he knows there is little time remaining, if at all, in his boxing career should he not have his hand raised on Thursday night.
There’s also a chance he turns down the large financial incentive on offer should he win.
Ultimately, there’s no guarantee on Hodges’ next move.
But having an extra $1 million in the bank does sway his thinking.
“If I lose and things don’t go to plan, I’ll have to sit down and have a think about it,” Hodges said.
“It probably would be my last one if I lose.
“But if all things go the way I want it to and that’s winning, then you’d be silly to turn down an offer to go for $1 million and have one more fight against Gallen.
“But at the end of the day, I’ve got to concentrate on this fight first. I get this fight done, then we’ll sit down and work it all out.
“I’d be happy to go round two, but have to get the job done here first and then I can get that nice reward.”
