"Father Time Is Undefeated": Gallen Retires After Asofa-Solomona's Brutal First-Round Knockout

It was over in a blink, and everybody in the building knew it the moment the first uppercut landed. Paul Gallen had promised to take the fight to Nelson Asofa-Solomona, and for a minute and a half the 45-year-old was true to his word. He was moving, he was landing, and by his own account he was winning the round. Then the size of the man in front of him arrived all at once. An overhand right rocked Gallen backwards towards the corner, and what followed was less a combination than a demolition: four uppercuts, each one clean, each one heavier than the last, until Gallen was wedged against the ropes with his knees gone and his right arm dangling through them, barely conscious. The referee lunged in a step too late. By the time he had Asofa-Solomona by the biceps, the fourth uppercut had already done its work. Five punches, four uppercuts, three and a half seconds — and a twelve-year boxing career was finished. Gallen had spent the week insisting this would be his last fight whatever happened, a promise made to his eight-year-old daughter, and from hospital on Friday night he kept his word. "Well, it's official, Father Time is undefeated, and that's it for me," he said. He was released the same night and told reporters on Saturday that he was fine, that he had slept well, eaten, and had no headache. "With 15 seconds to go, I was winning the round, I felt sweet and then all of a sudden 'bang'," he said. "I don't regret it. I've done it now, I can't change it. I'm fine." Nobody who watched it will forget how it looked. Fox League commentator Dan Ginnane, calling the fight, dubbed it "Ivan Drago vs Rocky" — and he was not exaggerating the mismatch. Asofa-Solomona, the former Melbourne Storm enforcer, is two metres tall and weighed in at 136 kilograms, 33 kilos heavier than Gallen's 103. He is fifteen years younger and had spent his whole rugby league career running through men Gallen's size. Former teammate Michael Ennis, watching from ringside, admitted afterwards: "I was scared." Ginnane, for his part, sounded almost relieved when it was over. "I kind of feel relieved for him that this is going to be the end," he said. Gallen's record closes at 16 wins, one draw and three losses from 20 professional fights, a remarkable second career for a man who did not turn professional until February 2014, while he was still captaining Cronulla and New South Wales. His rugby league numbers tell the rest of the story: 348 appearances for the Sharks, 32 Tests for Australia, 24 State of Origin matches for the Blues. He fought for a seven-figure purse on Friday night, and he said the money and his love of boxing meant he had no regrets about taking the bout. The night did not end cleanly. After the stoppage, Asofa-Solomona climbed out of the ring and confronted a heckler, pulling back a punch at the last moment before officials escorted him away. He later apologised but said he had been racially taunted, and New South Wales Police are investigating. Asofa-Solomona, now 4-0 with four knockouts, used his moment to call out Britain's Tommy Fury. Gallen, meanwhile, was already home with his family by Saturday morning, safe and sound, as he put it — the most important thing. He leaves boxing the way he played rugby league: having taken on the biggest man in the room, and having paid the price for it.