Paul Gallen has branded Nelson Asofa-Solomona a “dog” and an “absolute rat”, claiming the former NRL giant betrayed his trust after he helped launch his boxing career.
Gallen will come out of retirement at 45 to face ‘Big Nasty’ in a heavyweight slobberknocker in Sydney on November 6 – his first fight since defeating Sonny Bill Williams via split decision 16 months ago.
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And while the lucrative payday helped lure him back, Gallen says the fight has become personal.
“It has lit a fire in me for sure,” Gallen told Fox Sports News.
“For a man to have intimate knowledge about another bloke, and then be calling him out when he knows he doesn’t want to fight anymore, when he knows he’s done – that’s a dog.
“He’s an absolute rat, and I can’t respect that.
“If I’ve got the opportunity to do something about it legally, I will. So here I am. I get to fight him, have a crack and punch him in the face, which I’m going to enjoy.
“I like Nelson. I have a lot of respect for him and I’ve done my best for him. For him to throw it back in my face, he’s going to pay for it.”
Gallen claims he went into bat for NAS as the former Melbourne Storm enforcer prepared to launch his pro boxing career, even contacting No Limit boss Matt Rose on his behalf.
“Nelson keeps calling me out,” Gallen said.
“Last year I gave Nelson some knowledge about myself – that I’m done, I’m retired. I told him he should ring No Limit and try to fight on a Vegas card they’d asked me to fight on.
“I rang Matt Rose for him and spoke to him. I’m not trying to claim that I’ve contributed to his boxing career whatsoever, but I did go into bat for him with No Limit.
“For him to then call me out after every single fight he’s had, I just feel it’s really disrespectful.
“They’re paying me the money to come back, so I’m going to fight him.”
NAS has won all three of his professional fights since walking away from footy, including a frightening first-round knockout of Jeremy Latimore.
The 201cm, 130kg-plus man mountain has also defeated former NRL forwards Jarrod Wallace and George Burgess.
Gallen accepts the former Kiwi international possesses serious KO power, even suggesting the shot that flattened Latimore could have starched Tyson Fury.
But he has far less respect for Asofa-Solomona’s boxing ability.
“He’s no match for me a few years ago,” Gallen said.
“I think we all know I’d beat him with one hand. But, as you said, Father Time is undefeated.
“He’s dangerous. I’ve got no doubt about that. I’ve got respect for him as a fighter because he’s dangerous.
“He’s not a great boxer. We all know that. As far as the sport goes, I don’t think he’s going to go anywhere. I’m just being honest in my assessment of him.
“But he’s a dangerous puncher. He can punch and he can hurt. I think the punch he got Jeremy Latimore with probably knocks out Tyson Fury, to be fair.
“But he’s got to land that. I’m not going to stand there and let him punch me.
“Plenty of movement, plenty of head movement. If he doesn’t catch me with one of those big ones, I towel him up.”
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Gallen, who has shared the ring with legitimate heavyweights including Justis Huni, Mark Hunt, Lucas Browne and Kris Terzievski, also questioned whether Asofa-Solomona has ever been forced into the type of dogfight he plans to create.
The Sharks great even recalled a game against Melbourne in which Cronulla repeatedly targeted the giant Storm forward.
“I’m going to put him in a situation where he’s going to have to bite down and find something he’s never had to find before,” Gallen said.
“Look at him – he quit rugby league when it got too hard for him. That’s a fact. It got too fast for him, so rather than trying to lose 10 or 15 kilos, he quit.
“He’ll quit again in this fight.
“I played against him in rugby league. I’ll never forget a game at Shark Park where we actually named a set after him. We called it ‘Big Set’.
“We ran at him three or four times in a set for about three sets in a row. He was off the field within nine minutes.
“That’s the type of bloke he is. If you put the pressure on him and put him under the pump, he will quit.
“I will make him quit.”
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Gallen acknowledged that returning at 45 carries an obvious risk, but pointed to his long record of overcoming bigger and younger opponents.
“They said that the last two fights too, and I won both of them,” he said.
“I’ve been proving everyone wrong my whole life. I debuted at 19 years of age and I’m now 45. Everyone has been bigger than me my whole life.
“I’m always proving people wrong, and I’m here to do it again.”
The veteran has undergone brain scans and several other medical tests before agreeing to return.
“I’ve done everything I can to make sure I’m OK,” Gallen said.
“I’ve been told I’m in a good spot.
“Doctors can’t encourage me and say, ‘Keep fighting’. They definitely can’t do that. But I’ve had multiple tests and scans done, and I’m in a good place.
“I don’t have any marks on my brain. I don’t have any issues like that whatsoever.
“I’ll have another test after this one to make sure I’m OK, but at the moment I’m doing everything I can to make sure I’m fine.”
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And while anger helped ignite the comeback, Gallen says his main motivation is providing for his family.
“I’ve had my time in rugby league and I’ve had my time in boxing,” he said.
“What I do now is all about providing for them, setting them up and giving them the life I never had.
“That’s my sole motivation now.”