Boxing Legend Urges 39-Year-Old Paul Gallen To Retire After Loss To Justis Huni

Knowing what kind of bravery and heart Paul Gallen possesses, you'd be surprised to see him turn his back on boxing following his defeat to 22-year-old Justis Huni.

But one boxing legend has urged the former rugby league star to do exactly that - hang up the gloves.

Main Event / Sky

Former multiple-time world champion Jeff Fenech insists Gallen should take his cushty $1.5million pay cheque and retire from boxing.

And with Gallen about to turn 40, you can totally understand where Fenech is coming from.

"There is a rematch clause but I hope Gallen doesn't want it," Fenech said after the all-Aussie heavyweight bout.

"He doesn't need this again, you can have all the money in the world but you don't need this."

PA

Gallen took a lot of damage in the 10-round slugfest with reports suggesting he even broke a rib as early as the second round.

That being said, he never showed any signs of giving up and continue to march forward.

The bout was eventually stopped when Gallen hit the deck after copping a devastating shot from Huni.

But judging by the reaction from fans and experts on social media, many thought the referee should have intervened earlier to stop the onslaught.

Speaking during the Main Event broadcast, Paul Kent said Gallen was "too brave for his own good tonight".

"Paul Gallen got paid $1.5 million for tonight's fight. That was probably the last four or five years of his NRL career," Kent said.

"The fact is, I wouldn't like to see him fight anymore. I don't think he can go any higher than where he went tonight.

"He certainly doesn't want any better opponent than what Justis Huni gave him tonight.

"He can go back he can fight the Barry Halls of the world again and have the rematches, there's always the talk about fighting Sonny Bill Williams - which is out on the horizon.

"But I think tonight he got his pay day. I would like, for his own welfare, for him to say 'you know what, I'm 39 years old. I'm going to go an have the shoulder operation, I'm going to go off into retirement and enjoy spending my money."

Elsewhere, Fox Sports' Adam Peacock tweeted: "That line between brave and stupid got blurred late on."

While Seven's sport journalist Chris Garry added: "Ridiculous it was allowed to go that long. My goodness Gallen is tough but this is unnecessary punishment. Referee should have stopped it four times by now."

As for the great man himself, he refused to rule out the possibility of a rematch against Huni once he returns from Olympic duties in Tokyo.

"I'm not against it," Gallen said in his post-fight interview.

"I think I had a really good preparation leading into Mark Hunt and Lucas Browne and this was a short one. I was as fit as I've ever been going into this fight - but trying to get sparring to prepare for guys like that it's pretty hard.

"I did get a few good guys and I was as prepared as I could have been but that was a pretty good challenge and that's where I want to be as an athlete really pushing myself as hard as I can against a champion.

"I did that tonight and we'll weigh it up in the future what's going to happen."

Topics: Boxing News, Paul Gallen, Boxing, justis huni, Rugby League, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry