Key posts
Gallen about to fight but we still don’t know who
There’s a real pro wrestling vibe around this. Some serious Royal Rumble areas.
Paul Gallen is about to make the walk for his first fight of the night and we still don’t know who he is facing. We’ll find out when their music hits after Gallen makes the walk. Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges are both waiting in the rooms.
“I’ll give you a hint, it’s a Queenslander,” promoter George Rose said.
It’s almost time for Gallen’s first fight
Word from No Limit on how far away Paul Gallen’s first fight is? “Very soon”.
We’re about to find out who he will face. Will it be Justin Hodges or Ben Hannant? There’s certainly no love lost between Gallen and Hodges before they throw hands tonight.
Gallen has already started the first of his two warm-ups for the night. Hodges and Hannant say they will both warm up at the same time before learning which one gets the nod for the opening stoush. The other? He’ll have to cool down for a while.
Over in 55 seconds
They call him “Trigger” for a reason. Blink and you’d have missed it. Ty Telford needs less than a minute to dispose of Vanlalawmpuia, who disagrees with the stoppage but looked in a serious bit of trouble there.
Telford ready to turn it on
If you’ve ever seen Ty Telford fight, you’d be just about convinced he doesn’t know what “boring” means. This guy is always must-watch television. The Sydneysider is about to take on Vanlalawmpuia out of India in a welterweight contest. Yeah, he goes by one name. A bit of a vibe like Madonna, Cher and Moses.
Who saw that coming?
Honestly, who saw that coming? Renold Quinlan’s boxing record had gone from 11-1 to 14-11, then he goes out and stops Jack Bowen with a thunderous right hand. Believe in yourself when nobody else will.
Renold Quinlan produced a stunning win.Credit:Wolter Peeters
The upset of the year
The upset of the year in Australian boxing? It certainly goes close.
Renold Quinlan has stunned Jack Bowen with a fifth-round stoppage. Bowen is a star on the rise, his trajectory seemingly destined to go north for a long time. Quinlan had turned into a journeyman. Then he produces a massive right hand in a stirring redemption story. Wow, what a fight.
That is incredible. This man stunned Daniel Geale to win an IBO world title, and Ben Damon – the voice of Australian boxing – reckons this win might be even bigger.
Quinlan had lost nine of his previous 11 fights.
It’s SBW versus Gallen as boxing and Bledisloe collide
By Adrian Proszenko
Sonny Bill Williams and Paul Gallen are finally going head-to-head. Well, sort of.
Tonight, Williams will be part of the Nine commentary team covering the Bledisloe Cup opener when, after 20 years of anguish, the Wallabies can take a big step towards bringing the trophy to this side of the Tasman, while Gallen will attempt to belt not one but two Maroons in the boxing ring on the same night.
It’s about as close as Williams and Gallen will get to squaring off after failing to come to an agreement on a much-anticipated fight. The time to get a deal done is over as Gallen has vowed to retire by the end of the year.
Gallen’s double-headliner show has left boxing purists aghast, but few can sell like the former Cronulla and Blues captain.
“It’s very different, it’s entertainment,” Gallen said. “If boxing could sustain itself, it wouldn’t need me. I’m headlining the event for a reason. If boxing people want to shit can an event like this, then go and fight in front of 200 people at a leagues club.”
Main card underway
The main card is underway and we have seen former IBO super middleweight champion Renold Quinlan make a rapid start against Jack Bowen, a rising star considered the future of the light heavyweight division in this country.
Bowen battled back and you have to wonder if Quinlan can maintain this pace over six rounds. A compelling opening round.
Tait’s brutal stoppage
Here’s a look at Jalen Tait stopping Sachin Mudaliar in the second round. Mudaliar has an ANBF Australasian super featherweight title to his name but there was no stopping Tait tonight.
A look at the prelims
Miles Zalewski’s sights are surely locked on Harry Garside now. The pair were supposed to fight on this card before the Olympic bronze medallist pulled out with an injury. Zalewski improved to 12-2 with a dominant and chaotic third round TKO win over Shiva Mishra [8-7] in the final bout of the prelims as the attention turns to the main card.
Earlier, Jalen Tait stopped Sachin Mudaliar in a second round knockout, Desley Robinson defeated Stephanie Mfongwot via unanimous decision and Ange Harries consigned Angel Rushton to the first defeat of her professional career.
