Paul Gallen has sensationally claimed promoters No Limit have no faith in new crossover star Nelson Asofa-Solomona, saying: “They want me to come back and beat him because they know he’s s***”.
The declaration comes as the NSW Origin great has also denied reports suggesting he wants $1 million to face Asofa-Solomona in an October headliner all parties remain in discussions over.
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Speaking with Fox Sports Australia earlier this week, Asofa-Solomona not only suggested a showdown with Gallen is now “inevitable”, but confirmed himself ready to throw down against “the king” of footy fighters.
Those close to ‘Big Nasty’ have also confirmed the former Melbourne premiership prop has already been in training three weeks for what would be an all-Australian crossover blockbuster.
“I want the big fights — the big fish,” NAS told us shortly before training on Monday night. “And Gal is the king of NRL fighters.
“His is a name that’s been brought up to me since before I turned pro. And it’s inevitable our paths will meet.
“The more pressure, the brighter the lights, the better I perform.”
Gallen, however, insists No Limit have yet to offer a deal large enough to lure him out of retirement, having not boxed since defeating Sonny Bill Williams in July last year.
He also took the big stick to NAS when asked about why the fight – which could be headlined by Nikita Tszyu if he wins Wednesday night’s IBF eliminator against Ben Mahoney – is being negotiated.
“I’ll tell you why they want me to come back,” Gallen told nine.com.au, referencing No Limit.
“They want me to come back and beat him [NAS] because they know he’s shit.
“All due respect to Nelson … [but] No Limit have realised two things. Firstly, he can’t fight, he’s not a good boxer.
“He’s dangerous. Don’t get me wrong, he’s very dangerous. He can punch. And most footy players they put in front of him, he’ll probably knock them out.
“I’m not taking that away from him at all.
“But as far as boxing goes, he’s absolutely no chance of going anywhere, and they [No Limit] know that. That’s why they want me to come back and beat him and finish him.”
Since walking out on his $800,000-a-year NRL deal, NAS has won three consecutive fights – knocking out former NRL forwards Jeremy Latimore, Jarrod Wallace and George Burgess.
Yet Gallen says his promoter isn’t impressed.
“They want me to come back and finish this whole shemozzle,” he continued.
“The last guy he fought [Burgess], he’s never had a fight in his life and was blowing up after 30 seconds. He was gone. Cooked. He fell and beat himself.
“Nelson wants to be a professional boxer now and they’re trying to bring a 45-year-old out of retirement to fight him. Like, where’s he going?
“When you’re 140kg and you land a punch, that’s gonna hurt most people. He can hurt almost everyone.
“But as far as his boxing ability goes, when he gets down to somebody and actually fights, he’s gonna be in trouble.”
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Gallen did confirm however that he is in negotiations for the ‘Big Nasty’ showdown.
“They’ve made me an offer,” he confirmed. “I met them last week.
“I get on with Matt [Rose], and he put a contract in front of me, but I didn’t even look at the contract. I said, ‘Mate, what’s the number?’
“It’s not something to be sneezed at, don’t get me wrong. But I said, ‘Mate, I’m not even looking at it’, and I walked away. He knows the figure I fight for. They wanna pay me, I’ll fight. Pretty simple.”
While Gallen, understandably, did not reveal what that figure was, he rejected suggestions it sits around $1 million.
“That’s not true,” he said. “All the figures about me boxing are rubbish.”
Certainly though, ‘Gal’ is no stranger to offers with six zeroes.
Way back in 2021, the Cronulla premiership hero revealed UK promoter Eddie Hearn had offered an $8 million proposal for he and SBW to fight twice the following year – with each man earning $4 million over two fights.
Gallen stated, however, that Williams had knocked it back.
“So I’m f…ing filthy,” Gallen said. “We’re talking about life changing money – two fights, $4 million each.
“Who else is getting that sort of cash? There are world champions who don’t get that money. It’s unbelievable.”
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Then in January this year, No Limit CEO George Rose confirmed his interest in having NAS throw down against Gallen, who in his prime grossed a staggering $25 million with Australia’s No.1 promoter.
However, Rose quickly added that ‘Gal’ would now have little hope of keeping pace with the younger, and much heavier, man who now holds his crown as Australia’s new crossover king.
More recently in June, Rose also spoke with Fox Sports Australia about reports ‘Gal’ was asking for $1 million to face his newest crossover star.
“Initially, Gal was demanding $4 million,” Rose joked. “So it’s nice to see he has come down a little. Apparently, this is his discount price.
“And Gal, we know, has always been about the money. But I also know the only reason he’s throwing this figure at us is because he believes he can beat Nelson …”
Already, there is talk of Gallen-NAS being on an October card headlined by either Liam Paro or Nikita Tszyu – should the latter defeat Mahoney on Wednesday’s stacked Gold Coast event.
There is also a chance Tim Tszyu, fresh off his own big win against American superstar Errol Spence Jnr, could fight again this year – although it’s understood his preference is to wait until 2027.
Regardless, the elder Tszyu sibling has only this week jetted back into Sydney from an overseas holiday, and will be ringside on Wednesday night as his younger brother looks to continue his own hyped rise.