Paul Gallen was in secret talks to throw down against WWE megastar Brock Lesnar at the height of his crossover career, with the NSW Origin great’s promoter also convinced he could’ve fought Jake Paul had their timelines crossed better.
The shock revelation comes as Gallen is now readying to be ringside for Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s hyped Australian heavyweight debut in Brisbane this Friday – and with Australia’s No.1 promoter No Limit still keen for a future showdown between the pair.
Only weeks after walking out on his $800,000-a-year deal with Melbourne Storm, Asofoa-Solomona is set to begin his new life as a professional on what shapes as a stacked Brisbane showcase this Friday night.
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Fighting before the great Australian grudge match that is Michael Zerafa vs Nikita Tszyu, 29-year-old NAS throws down against fellow NRL Old Boy Jeremy Latimore.
So heavily favoured is the former Stormer, talk has already turned to him potentially throwing down against Gallen, if the nation’s heavyweight crossover king can be lured out of retirement one more time.
While Gallen is now 44, and twice retired from boxing, he is also only six months removed from an emphatic win over Sonny Bill Williams – which was tipped to be the exclamation point on a career that included massive fights against Justis Huni, Lucas Browne and Mark Hunt.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, No Limit CEO George Rose also revealed for the first time how close he came to landing Gallen a crossover blockbuster against Lesnar, the WWE icon who also spent two years as UFC heavyweight champion.
Among the most recognised athletes on the planet, Lesnar fought eight times in the UFC from 2008 — which included winning gold that same year against Hall Of Famer Randy Couture.
He then went and defended twice against Frank Mir and Shane Carwin.
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Rose also said that if Gallen were right now enjoying the fight peak that saw him gross a reported $25 million across three years, he’d be confident of landing the Cronulla premiership hero a bout with American YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
So what chance Asofa-Solomona, should he win Friday night as widely tipped, now tries to lure Gallen back for one more lucrative headliner?
Ironically, Gal is close friends with Latimore and will be part of the underdog’s heavyweight support crew in Brisbane this Friday night.
Other former leaguies attending live to cheer the hugely popular Latimore on include James Graham, Jimmy Maloney, Dan Hunt and Tyson Frizell.
And while Rose has already suggested he doesn’t think the NSW Origin great would have enough to contend with Big Nelson – “I don’t think it’s something Gal could handle” – he also refuses to rule the showdown out.
“Because Paul Gallen fears absolutely no one,” Rose said this week. “It’s why he was so popular, the risks he took.
“I can tell you know that at one stage, we were actually eyeing off a fight between him and Brock Lesnar …”
Huh?
“It was after beating Mark Hunt from memory,” Rose continued of his shock 2020 upset of another UFC heavyweight favourite.
“And once Gal won that fight, it really was a case of ‘f*** who can’t he beat?’.
“At least in the crossover space.
“Which is when we started talking about Lesnar.
“There was a point in time where Lesnar was coming down here with the WWE, so we had some talks. Were trying to see how we could work his visit in with a fight.
“We already knew Gal was in.
“Because he always said yes.
“It was ‘pay me, I’ll fight him’, because the guy literally feared no one.
“I mean, he was coming off a win against Mark Hunt, one of greatest knockout artists in the history of combat sports.
“That’s crazy.
“Same deal with fighting Justin Hodges and Ben Hannant in one night.
“There was absolutely nothing he wasn’t willing to take on.
“But unfortunately we just couldn’t get the timing with Brock to work out so the fight never happened.”
Rose says that had their careers crossed over better, he also would’ve been confident of making Gallen versus Jake Paul.
“And I know Jake recently fought Anthony Joshua and got beat, broke his jaw,” the promoter said.
“But against any type of crossover fighter? Jake gives them all a run for their money.
“And Gal, he was exactly the same.
“He would’ve done well against Jake and likely even had an opportunity had their careers aligned up.”
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When it comes to Friday night’s showdown, Gallen will be firmly part of Team Latimore, with the pair having packed down together with the Cronulla Sharks in 2017.
Latimore also revealed that he actually sparred against Gal prior during preparation for a fight last year, and when the retired Blues skipper looking to ready for his own return against SBW.
“Gal messaged me one day about doing some sparring,” Latimore explained. “It was actually his first session back, and his bicep started playing up about halfway through.
“But early on, he hit me with a big overhand right. Wobbled me.
“I actually didn’t think Gal would be as powerful as he was.
“But you know, keg on legs. Works you to the body, then big overhand right.
“And he’s a powerful guy.”
Asked about former NRL players fighting generally, and Latimore says: “A guy like Gal generates so much interest.
“It’s the same now with big Nelson.
“And hopefully I can play my role in derailing that hype train because the majority of people out there are saying ‘f*** yeah, I want to see these guys fight’.
N. Tszyu vs Zerafa | Friday 16 Jan from 7pm AEDT | The trash talk and bitterness come to a head when Nikita Tszyu steps into the ring to face Michael Zerafa in one of the most anticipated fights in Australian boxing history. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
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“Sure, some people will always complain about it.
“But boxing is an incredibly tough sport to do.
“I remember after one of my first sparring sessions, I’m standing there with two black eyes and my nose across my face.
“That humbles you.
“So when you’ve got these guys with big profiles getting in there having a crack at this – doing something which really is so tough – there is going to be a lot of interest there.”
For this preparation, Latimore has been sparring the likes of Australian heavyweight Jackson Murray – who has himself sparred Francis Ngannou in Las Vegas – and cruiserweight Kane Baker, plus another 140kg slugger from western Sydney.
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