Paul Gallen has heaped praise on the hulking Australian Olympic hopeful who is helping prepare him for Nelson Asofa-Solomona, declaring of the youngster who once weighed over 170kg: “He’s bigger than Nelson and a way better boxer”.
The statement comes as Fox Sports Australia can also reveal Gallen is still in such strong shape, even at age 45, he was recently approached about going into camp in Thailand with Australia’s hyped heavyweight prospect Teremoana Teremoana.
Gallen has also spent part of what will be his last ever camp sparring Newcastle’s Brandon ‘The Bull’ Grach, who is reportedly readying for a shot at Australian heavyweight champ Stevan Ivic next month.
As part of his tilt to become the first man to topple ‘Big Nasty’, Gallen is completing four separate sparring sessions against hyped Australian super heavyweight Ibrahim ‘Ibby’ Mohammed – a fighter who weighs almost 140kg and stands 208cm tall.
Despite still being only 20, the promising amateur is already seven centimetres taller than Asofa-Solomona.
Gallen v Asofa-Solomona | Friday November 6 from 7pm AEDT | Australian sporting icon and crossover boxing king Paul Gallen returns to the ring to face his biggest opponent yet, Nelson ‘Big Nasty’ Asofa-Solomona. | Order now on Kayo Sports.
He is also bigger than even British megastar Tyson Fury by two centimetres.
In fact, so quickly did Mohammed grow at one point in his teens, the youngster required surgery on his hips.
Importantly, the Sydneysider also boasts several similar traits to Asofa-Solomona – including a devastating right uppercut – and has also been labelled the nation’s “next big thing” by no less than Australian boxing godfather Johnny Lewis.
In fact, so impressed has the Hall of Fame trainer been with Mohammed’s potential, he has now agreed to be part of his push towards selection at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles before then turning pro.
On Tuesday morning, Gallen sparred rounds with Mohammed at Doyle’s Boxing Gym in Sutherland.
While media weren’t permitted inside for the hit out, both fighters fronted the cameras afterwards to speak about the new partnership that now has Gallen convinced of victory against NAS on November 6.
Asked about having found someone close in size to Asofa-Solomona for sparring, Gallen replied: “He’s not close, he’s bigger.
“He’s bigger than Nelson and a way better boxer than Nelson.
“He’s a great amateur and it’s very good to get in there and move around with. He knows what he’s doing. Very short, sharp punches and such a big body.
“I can really feel how much harder it is with such a big body in there. And I’ve got to get used to it obviously for a couple of weeks’ time.”
Incredibly, Mohammed only started boxing in his late teens, and when looking to shed weight from a frame exceeding 170kg.
“And I ended up falling in love with the sport,” he grinned, and while stood alongside Gallen for his first ever media call. “I’m just trying to see how good I am and maybe test my abilities in the big stage one day”.
And as for what he thought when first approached about sparring the NSW Origin great?
“I’ll be honest, I don’t know too much about him,” continued the youngster who, unsurprisingly, grew up playing basketball. “But I can tell you that he’s a really good boxer, and he really works hard.
“Works hard and throws those body shots.
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“The body shots were very effective, especially when he starts changing levels. He feints and then he comes over top. It’s very good skill. Very good skill.”
Gallen, meanwhile, was equally impressed with the work.
“I feel like he throws more controlled punches [than NAS],” the Cronulla premiership hero said.
“He’s a good amateur, and when you’ve got that pedigree, you just throw shots well.
“You throw them straight, you throw them quick, throw them short. He’s got that.
“Nelson’s a big guy, we know that.
“He’s big, he’s powerful, he throws wild shots and if they land, they’re going to hurt.
“But he’s not going to be as skilful as this guy.
“So if I can manage to evade some of his punches, I’ll manage to evade Nelson’s wild punches and not get caught with something big.
“And let’s be honest, guys, that’s what is going to decide the fight.
“If Nelson catches me with something big, I’m in trouble.
“If he if he doesn’t though, I’ll box his ears off. I’ll outscore him easily.”
Pushed on his new sparring partner, Gal continued: “This guy’s good. He’s very good.
“He’s a good amateur. A big body.
“I wouldn’t want to be scoring the spar that’s for sure.
“But I got through it, and that’s a positive.
“To get through sessions at my age, when you train hard, when you’re training with guys, let’s be honest, he’s 25 years younger than me … but I work hard. Everyone knows I work hard.
“No one can take that away from me.
“And if I get beaten on the night, it’s going to be because Nelson’s better than me, not because he outworks me. That’s just the way it’s going to be.”
Gallen and NAS face off ahead of bout | 01:15
So as for Gallen having any idea who NAS is sparring in preparation for him?
“I’ve got no idea what Nelson’s doing,” he shrugged. “And I couldn’t care less.
“All I know is that he’s carrying a doll around of me because he’s a flog.
“Seriously, I wonder what dolls he’s got in his cupboard. Reckon he might have one of those sheep dolls in there.”
And as for the Melbourne Storm premiership winner admitting the other day that a loss will effectively see his No Limit contract terminated?
“That’s what No Limit want,” he continued. “They want me to beat him.
“Obviously if I don’t, if he beats me, that’s a big feather in his cap, and he gets to claim that and talk about it and carry on with it.
“That’s one thing I don’t like that Nelson does.
“All these fights of his, he’s constantly posting them [afterwards].
“Like they’re done. They’re history.
“Get over it and move on.
“But he’s just constantly posting that photo of Latsy [Jeremy Latimore], constantly posting pictures of his wins.
“Real boxing people don’t do that. They have a win, they move on.
“They accept their win and the fact that someone got in there against them, showed a lot of courage.
“But he just keeps ridiculing them. I think it’s embarrassing and Nelson showing his true colors”.
Elsewhere, Gallen also revealed he had recently been approached about heading to Thailand this week with Teremoana, the hulking heavyweight who no less than Eddie Hearn is already predicting will become a future heavyweight champion.
Apart from being undefeated in all 12 fights, Teremoana is also a huge Gal fan and had invited him to join camp as he prepares for his own November showdown against New Zealander Hemi Ahio.
“They’re in Thailand now,” Gallen said. “They left last Wednesday.
“I spoke with them about the camp and really wanted to go.
“I went through the program with them, the way they’re going to train, but I just thought to myself ‘I don’t want to go there and not be able to keep up’.
“I know they wouldn’t have held that against me.
“But they were also flying sparring partners in from Europe and I didn’t want to get in with them and have anyone say “Oh, take it a bit easier with him, he’s 45’. I didn’t want to be that guy, so I chose not to go.
“And now [nodding toward Mohammed] we’ve found this big fella, thankfully. I’m also sparring Brandon Grach on the weekend, so we’ve got the guys that are good anyway.”
Given everything Gallen is conceding in age, height and weight against Asofa-Solomona, the man who boasts wins over Mark Hunt and Lucas Browne has surprisingly been listed as a $2.15 betting outsider for the November headliner.
NAS, meanwhile, is $1.68 favourite.
Yet speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, Mohammed’s trainer Henry Lau stressed his young charge will ensure Gallen is more than ready for Asofa-Solomona by the time their fight rolls around in less than three weeks.
“Ibby is the closest thing Gal can get to replicating a fight with Nelson,” Lau said.
“He’s actually taller, stands 6’10’’.
“He also weighs 139 kilos.
“Right now he’s training for nationals and we’re hoping for the Olympics, then a pro career.
“We’ve already sparred Gal once and will now do three more sessions – two this week, and one more next week.”
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Soon after, the trainer continued: “Ibby came to my gym at the age of 16, shortly after dropping out of school, and he’s been training fulltime ever since.
“When we started training he was 6’6’’.
“But he’s kept growing and, most recently, in the space of about two years of doing this properly, has won State titles twice, won King of the Ring twice and then went up to Queensland and won Golden Gloves.
“He’s got absurd reach and one of the hardest jabs to deal with.
“His boxing IQ is also incredibly good.
“Johnny Lewis has offered us his help and really believes Ibby is the next best thing in boxing.”