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Paul Gallen has promised to knock both Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges out when he faces the Queensland duo in the upcoming Origin Rumble on Thursday 15 September, as more details about the format of his historic double-header emerge.
Gallen (12-2, 7KO) will attempt the extremely rare feat of facing both Hodges (5-1, 2KO) and Ben Hannant (0-1) on the same evening in Brisbane, and today revealed he will receive at least an hour between bouts to recover.
While he does not yet know which order he will face the former NRL stars, Gallen declared: “Whoever I fight first, the second doesn’t worry me. I’ll get the job done.”
“I want to knock them both out. I want to end in style,” he added.
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Gallen said Wednesday: “It’s going to be at least an hour in between … I’m just going to totally relax. I’m not going to worry about it. I’ve had people saying: ‘let’s try and get in a fight, let’s do some rounds in between’. I’m not going to do that.
“I’m just going to fight, totally relax, then warm up again 20 or 30 minutes before the next fight. I’m mentally prepared for that now. I know what’s going to happen.
“Whoever I fight first, the second doesn’t worry me. I’ll get the job done.”
He added that he had been deeply concerned about the prospect of a double-header, something which had led him in recent weeks to threaten to withdraw from the event. But things are different now.
“My mindset is totally turned around,” Gallen said. “I was worried, I was concerned, I was a little bit scared, I was fearful. My mindset is turned around. I know what I’ve got to do. I’m going to hurt them on the night.”
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Asked if he has a preference on which rival he faces first, he declared: “I don’t care. I’m ready to go.
“Justin Hodges – I miss seeing Justin Hodges walk out with all his mates, he’s behind them all. Darren Lockyer, Cam Smith, Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater, Greg Inglis, Petero Civoniceva, and he’s normally at the back of them, hiding behind them all, riding on the back of their coat-tails.
“This time he’s not going to have them all there. He’s in big trouble.”
Hodges has turned up the heat in their war of words in recent days, telling Gallen to ‘suck it up’ over his threat to walk away from the bout.
Gallen says he’s not surprised. “Not at all, that’s Hodgo isn’t it? Third man in all the time. Hiding behind all those big names, riding on the back of their coat-tails. He hasn’t got that this time … when he’s in the ring of me it’s going to be one-on-one.
“As I said at the start of this whole situation, ‘be careful what you wish for.’ He’s going to get it now.”
As for Hannant, Gallan said: “Ben Hannant was the guy who I knocked out of the 2016 Premiership. He was playing for the Cowboys at the time. We knocked him out of the comp that time. My (Sharks) boys will knock them off this week and I’ll knock him out again next week.
“I’ll say he’ll be second – he’s used to sitting on the bench back in his career. That’s why he would sit on the bench – (to) come in at the back end when everyone was a bit tired. I’ll be a little bit tired but it’s not going to matter, I’m still going to knock him out.”
Regardless of which order the two Queenslanders line up to face the former Blues Origin skipper, Gallen says he’s not underestimating the immense challenge in front of him.
“I don’t take anything for granted. I know I’ve fought some big names, had some big fights in the past. But these guys are grown men, professional athletes – they have been their whole lives. They’re not going to go in there and lay down and let me beat them up. They’re very proud guys, they’ve played at the highest level for a very long time.
“It’s still going to be a big challenge, it’s going to be a hard fight … (but) who I’m fighting doesn’t change how I’ve prepared. I’ve prepared so well for this. I’m so fit, I’m so strong. I’m ready to go.”
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