Justin Hodges says Australian boxing officials have unfairly robbed him of a whopping $1 million payday, declaring: “Maybe I should drop around to the referee’s house and see if he has the cash”.
Despite being granted an immediate rematch with Paul Gallen following his controversial Origin Rumble loss, Hodges wants to know who will pay out the hefty seven-figure bounty he believes is owed.
As part of a deal with promoters No Limit Boxing, both Hodges and fellow Queenslander Ben Hannant were offered a $1 million re-match clause if either man beat Gallen in their unique three-way headliner.
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Despite entering the fight as a $6 underdog, Hodges dropped and almost stopped Gallen in the second round of a highly entertaining bout, before then being stopped himself in the third.
However, the 40-year-old told Fox Sports Australia afterwards that the decision by referee Tony Kettlewell to wave off the fight while he was still standing against the ropes had “robbed” him of the chance to win said bounty for himself.
“I was robbed of that opportunity,” Hodges said of his hyped payday.
“I wasn’t hurt.
“There’s no way in the world that I was rocked. No way I was even dazed.
“I was against the ropes, got hit twice, but was fine.
“Yeah, we were both knackered. Both throwing punches.
“But it was just a couple of hits that he got me. I was ready to keep going.
“I couldn’t believe he stopped it.”
The incident was part of a controversial headliner that also saw Kettlewell come under fire from Australian boxing legend Jeff Fenech for allowing Gallen to hit Hodges while buckled way back over the ring ropes.
While the 40-year-old Queenslander shrugged off the incident — “I should’ve kept my hands up” — Fenech argued in commentary that had Hodges stayed down, he would have won via disqualification.
Asked what he said to the referee immediately afterwards, the Queensland Origin great continued: “I asked why it was stopped and he told me ‘you looked done’.
“I don’t know what he saw.
“But it was a s… way to end the fight.
“(Laughs) Maybe I should drop around to the referee’s house and see if he has the cash … maybe he will give me a million dollars.”
Despite Hodges’ claims of an unfair stoppage, Kettlewell’s call also received widespread support certain media, fans, even Gallen.
While the referee said afterwards he was unable to comment on the controversy, Gallen backed his decision to call time after one minute 40 seconds of the third.
Elsewhere, a Queensland boxing official also revealed all three judges had scored the fight 10-9 for Hodges in the first round, then 10-8 for Hodges in the second – due to the knockdown.
Asked about the finish, Gallen said: “I thought the referee did the right thing.
“I was hitting Hodgo and … that’s the thing when you’re in there getting hit, a lot of the time when you black out you don’t really know.
“You’re copping shots and you don’t think they really hurt.
“But they are.
“You don’t know that though. You don’t feel it hurting you.
“And that’s what I think was happening with Hodgo. He said afterwards the punches weren’t hurting him but that referee has been there lots of times.
“He knows what that situation looks like.
“And I think he did the right thing.”
Yet Hodges questioned how Gallen was allowed to fight on after being dropped, and then pressured in the second, while he was stopped “after two shots to the face”.
Asked if the thought of losing his massive payday would burn, he continued: “It’s going to burn for a long time.
“That million dollars, it was the carrot.
“It was always there in the back of my mind.
“But it’s not just the money, either. It’s the opportunity.
“I had Gal.
“I’d won those first two rounds, everything was going my way. That was my opportunity … and for some reason it was stopped.”
