The long-running grudge between Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams has come to an end.
The football legends fought in front of thousands at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday night, where Gallen won by split decision, 77-74, 74-77, 76-75.
Though Williams started the contest as the busier fighter, Gallen’s renowned gas tank saw the Cronulla Sharks star pull back in the later rounds. However, the judge’s decision was a divisive one for fans, with many, including Australian boxing icon Danny Green, believing Williams had done enough to secure the win.
“It’s very difficult to score a fight. For me, Sonny landed the cleaner, harder, crisper shots that were more eye-catching,” he said.
“Professional boxing is scored on the cleaner, harder punches. At the end of the fight – I had Sonny in front – and I questioned, are the judges going to score those body shots? And if they were, Paul Gallen landed a tonne. And that was the difference I guess.”
So contentious was the decision, Williams stormed out of the ring following the announcement, later telling news.com.au: “You saw it, you can report on what you saw.”
Even Gallen had some questions.
“Seriously, how did they score that? I definitely lost one round, think there was another close one and he had a point taken off,” Gallen said.
“I got the win, that’s all that matters. It will be there forever. Sonny just came up and said he wants to have a coffee man-to-man and I’ll honour that. I’ve had my fights. I’ve finished my fights. I’ve moved on with life. I’m not going to bring this up or talk about it, or carry on. If I get asked about it in the next couple of days I’ll answer the questions, but I won’t gloat. It’s been a long time coming. I got the job done.”
The fight, which also featured an undercard that saw Anthony Mundine’s son Rahim defeat Joe Vatusaqata via TKO in a super middleweight bout, streamed on Stan Sport. The local streamer’s Director of Sport, Ben Kimber, called the spectacle a “massive moment”.
“Two giants of Australian sport, a decade of talk, and it all exploded tonight on Stan Pay-Per-View. This is exactly what we built Stan Sport to do: put on the biggest events, with the biggest energy, in front of Aussie fans,” Kimber said.
“Full credit to Sonny and Gal – they left nothing behind in eight gruelling rounds. And hats off to every fighter who stepped into the ring tonight. What a statement for boxing, and what a night for Stan.”