Paul Gallen has put on a dominant showing, defeating Darcy Lussick by TKO on Wednesday night.
Lussick made the stronger start, stopping Gallen from landing anything big in the first round and capitalising on an “illegal” move according to Jeff Fenech.
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“It’s illegal. He’s holding around the head and hitting. This is absurd what we’re watching,” Fenech told Main Event.
Gallen though quickly gained ascendancy in the second round, responding with an uppercut and another shot that sent Lussick to the canvas.
“He’s in a dark spot,” Main Event’s Ben Damon.
“He’s taking massive shots. Gallen has an engine beyond belief.”
Lussick simply could not go on, tiring quickly as Gallen took control of the fight and forced the referee to come in and call an end to the bout.
No limit promoter George Rose revealed earlier in the week there is a $20,000 carrot on the line for the fighter who produces the best knockout of the night.
Rose revealed post-fight that Gallen took home the prize.
A classy Gallen though decided to split the money with Australian boxers Sam Goodman and Harry Garside, who also claimed wins.
“Come and see me in the shed. I’m going to give you some of the cash,” he said.
For all the highlights from Wednesday’s action, including the Goodman and Garside fights, check out the full wrap below!
LEILUA SILENCES CRITICS IN A BIG WAY
Joey Leilua has defeated Chris Heighington by unanimous decision and in the process silenced his critics in a big way.
“For all those haters that f***ing said I can’t last four rounds, thanks mate,” Leilua said post-fight.
“You gave me the inspiration tonight. I knew I could fight, I just wanted to f***ing show the whole world that I could f***ing last four rounds.
“You stare on top of me being fat and can’t last four rounds, you know what? F*** yourselves, there you go.”
A fairly close first two rounds said Leilua start slightly stronger but Heighington was also able to land a couple of solid punches.
A relatively uneventful third round saw the pair talked to by the referee after continued clinching slowed down the action.
Heighington was even warned at one point by the referee for tackling.
“It’s not football, it’s boxing,” he was told.
In the end, neither could land the decisive shot with the fight going the distance and to the scorecards, with Leilua coming out on top.
‘TERRIBLE’ STOPPAGE IN DRAMATIC DEBUT FOR GARSIDE
Harry Garside’s professional boxing debut has come to a strange end, with the Australian securing a TKO victory in the first round over Sachin Mudaliar.
Garside got Mudaliar up the ropes early and took it to him with a flurry of punches but not all of them were landing.
Despite that, the referee decided to call the fight, a decision that infuriated Mudaliar who did not appear to be hurt by the early onslaught.
“If you throw punches back, you don’t stop,” the referee said, explaining his decision.
“You can’t lay against the ropes and not throw punches.”
Boxing legend Jeff Fenech though could not comprehend the decision.
“Terrible,” he said.
“These referees, we need to sit down and talk to them and look at it. Of course he wasn’t throwing punches back, but there wasn’t one part of this where he shows that he was hurt … He was not hurt at all.”
Fenech was impressed by what he saw from Garside though.
“This kid’s so good,” he said.
“What he’s done today he tried too much to impress us. He’s got to get back to that skill level and then just pick his punches, instead of trying to throw 100 of them.
“This kid’s very talented. He’s got the world at his feet.”
Garside revealed post-fight that he had actually been carrying an injury suffered in sparring.
“It’s no secret, one of my hands was screwed to be honest,” he said.
“I stuffed it in my second last spar and I’ve just been managing it.”
AUSSIE STRONGMAN DISQUALIFIED FOR ‘BLATANT’ MOVE
Australian strongman Alex ‘Godly Strong’ Simon was disqualified in bizarre scenes during Wednesday night’s Christmas Boxing Bash.
Simon, who has previously been crowned Australia’s strongest man, was facing off against Tavita Vaoga after his initial opponent Hafthor Bjornsson had to pull out due to injury.
The 29-year-old had won five of his six fights in MMA and kickboxing, with all victories coming via knockout.
But Simon seemed to be drawing on his MMA experience, including grappling techniques, to gain the upperhand and was swiftly disqualified after multiple warnings from the referee.
Simon was warned early for pulling Vaoga onto the floor before also being cautioned for using the head.
“I’m going to warn you once,” the referee said.
Those warnings were not taken on board though, with Simon then throwing Vaoga to the floor, tripping him and then even striking at his rival’s head while on the floor.
It saw him disqualified for what Main Event commentator Ben Damon described as “one of the most blatant trips you’ll ever see in a boxing ring”, adding Simon had “forgotten what sport” he was in.
PANTHER DOMINANT AGAINST BRAVE ROOSTER
Meanwhile, Taylan May was the clear winner in a unanimous decision victory over Freddy Lussick.
The Panthers outside back was the more active of the two and landed far more punches than his Roosters counterpart.
May also defended well, gliding across the ring and evading most of Lussick’s shots.
It was a brave effort from the Rooster though, who copped plenty of blows in the defeat.
“This guy has got all the courage in the world,” Fenech said off Lussick.
“How tough is Lussick.”
“He’s wearing so many shots from May,” Damon added.
HODGES TAKES DOWN ROSS IN BRUTAL ‘WAR’
Justin Hodges’ first professional fight may have ended in a brutal knockout at the hands of Darcy Lussick.
This time around it was very different as the NRL legend earned a majority points decision win over Nathan Ross.
It was all Ross early, with a mix of body shots and left hooks but the former Knights gun began to tire in the second round.
That did not go unnoticed in Hodges’ corner, urging the ex-Bronco to let the jab work and land the right hand when Ross came rushing in.
The two continued to trade a few punches, with Hodges trying to split the guard with the jab while Ross found some success with the uppercut.
In the end though Hodges finished slightly stronger and took out the win, a welcome result given he had taken the fight on last-minute after Kotoni Staggs pulled out.
“It’s good to have a war,” Hodges said post-fight.
“I’ve never been four rounds before. We tried really hard. A lot of people probably don’t give us the respect we deserve. We probably almost thought it’d be a draw but a couple of tight rounds.”
Kent agreed it probably should have been a draw but admitted he was worried for Hodges early.
“He actually warmed into the fight,” Kent said.
“He got caught early and I thought it might be the end of him.”
UNDEFEATED AUSSIE’S STATEMENT IN BIGGEST CHALLENGE YET
Sam Goodman (10-0, 6KOs) has got through his biggest test yet with ease, defeating Richie Mepranum by TKO to capture the WBO Oriental Bantamweight title.
Mepranum, a three-time former world title challenger, represented a serious challenge for Goodman, who has made a rapid rise through the boxing world.
The undefeated Aussie though was dominant in the first six rounds before Mepranum seemingly pulled out of the fight after injuring his hand.
“In the blink of an eye it is all over,” Damon said on Main Event.
“He just jabbed him straight into the point of the elbow and it damaged his hand straight away. Immediately he knew he was done.”
Goodman though was having none of the injury excuse.
“Injured his hand? I f***ing hit that prick one hundred times,” he told Main Event.
“I think he quit on me. I didn’t think it was my cleanest to get started.
“He’s a tricky customer and does some awkward s*** out there. I knew I’d break him. He was a good test but I’m a whole lot better than him.”
FULL FIGHT CARD RESULTS
Paul Gallen def. Darcy Lussick by TKO (Heavyweight, 3x 2-minute rounds)
Harry Garside def. Sachin Mudaliar by TKO (Super Lightweight, 6×3-minute rounds)
Joey Leilua def. Chris Heighington by unanimous decision (Heavyweight, 4x2m)
Taylan May def. Freddy Lussick by unanimous decision (Cruiserweight, 4x2m)
Sam Goodman def. Richie Mepranum by TKO (WBO Oriental Bantamweight title, 10x3m)
Justin Hodges def. Nathan Ross by majority points decision (Heavyweight, 4x2m)
David Vaoga def. Alex ‘Godly Strong’ Simon – disqualified (Heavyweight, 4x2m)
Ella Boot def. Enja Priest by unanimous decision (Catchweight, 4x2m)
Natalie Gonzalez Hills def. Linn Sandstrom by unanimous decision (Super flyweight, 6x2m)
Malakay Moukayber and Kate McLaren in majority draw (Welterweight, 4x2m)
