Paul Gallen is about to do “the unthinkable” by fighting two rivals in one night. But what if the unthinkable really happens and he loses the first bout?
“Like a lot of this, me and No Limit have been at loggerheads about a lot of it, I don’t know,” Gallen said. “I’m not planning on that happening obviously, but it is a risk, without a doubt, particularly in the heavyweights where one punch can change everything.”
Paul Gallen is preparing for two fights in one night.Credit:Getty
No Limit Boxing chief executive George Rose says contingency plans will be revealed on Tuesday as Gallen puts the final touches in his preparations to face both Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges in the ring on Thursday night.
Promoters are running the risk of losing their main event star before the card finishes given the risk of Gallen suffering a knockout or concussion in the first bout.
But it is a risk No Limit are willing to take as Gallen waits to find out which of the former Queensland State of Origin stars he will face first, with both bouts scheduled over four rounds at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena.
The two-time Australian heavyweight title challenger would ordinarily enter a bout against either man as the heavy favourite, but Rose says the odds are stacked against Gallen this week.
The 41-year-old will fight either Hodges or Hannant earlier in the event and return to the dressing room before coming back out to face the other opponent in the main event. Both rivals have put their hand up to fight Gallen first, leaving Rose to concede the order of the bouts may come down to a flip of the coin.
“It surprises me. If I’m in their shoes, I want to fight him second. I want to get him when he’s tired, but both of them want to go first. That’s why we’ve got the dilemma we’ve got, and it will probably come down to a coin toss to see who goes first,” Rose said.
“We’re doing something we haven’t seen before. If there’s ever somebody who can do the unthinkable, do the undreamable, it is Paul Gallen. He managed to beat the unbeatable Origin team. He’s broken their hearts before, and we’re thinking he can do it again.”
But which way the coin falls isn’t 41-year-old Gallen’s biggest fear as he prepares for his last dance in a professional sporting arena before the time comes to put his family first.
“I was nervous about the break in between. A guy who is getting on a bit like me in age, I’m worried about the stoppage, totally stopping, totally letting my hair down, and then having to come back and fight again,” Gallen said.
“After a fight, you don’t understand the euphoria and the relief that it’s all over. To have to get back up again, that’s what I was worried about.
“I’ve been training like that for the past two weeks, I’ve got my head around it now. We’ve been training closer together, I’ve been doing the same amount of training – the same sparring, the same amount of pad work, running and cardio work – but rather than doing one in the morning and one in the afternoon, I’m doing it back-to-back. It has been a little bit tough but I’ve got through it all and I’ll be ready to go.”
