Ex-Dally M Centre of the Year calls out Paul Gallen for boxing fight

As he prepares for his boxing fight against Curtis Scott, Joseph Leilua has called out Paul Gallen to come out of retirement and take him on in the ring.

Remaining undefeated for over eight years in the boxing arena, Gallen had a storied career before deciding to retire after a win over Justin Hodges at the end of 2022.

Victories over Junior Paulo, Mark Hunt and Lucas Browne would see him compete for the Australian heavyweight title and vacant ANBF Australiasian and Australian heavyweight titles.

However, he unfortunately failed in his ambition to become a champion, losing against Justis Huni and Kris Terzievski.

Despite announcing his retirement from boxing nearly 18 months ago, Leilua wants to compete against Gallen to settle an old score.

“I wanted to fight him,” Leilua said on the No Limit Boxing Podcast.

“I still want to fight him if he wants it but I think he's retired. He stepped on my hand in my rookie year and he still remembers it because I've always brought it up to him. I just want to punch his head in.

“I remember playing the ball and as I'm about to stand up, he stood on me …

“He literally stood on my hand and looked at me and I thought you f---ing grub. That's when I knew, he is a grub.”

For now, Leilua is preparing for his boxing fight against former NRL player Curtis Scott on March 13 as he aims to remain undefeated in the boxing ring and increase his career record to 4-0.

“We are the most hated people in NRL I think, after Gallen,” Leilua said.

“He's one person more hated than me.

"That's weird. But for us, it's about showcasing there's more to us than people think we are … they only see me, the grub, apparently.”

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