Paul Gallen has accused Nelson Asofa-Solomona of going too far by bringing his wife into their increasingly bitter feud, threatening to kick his rival’s head “off his shoulders” if he drops him on Friday night.
The heavyweights traded insults at Wednesday’s spiteful press conference, with Gallen insisting the former Melbourne Storm enforcer had broken an unwritten rule by mentioning his family.
Gallen v Asofa-Solomona | Friday November 6 from 7pm AEDT | Australian sporting icon and crossover boxing king Paul Gallen returns to the ring to face his biggest opponent yet, Nelson ‘Big Nasty’ Asofa-Solomona. | Order now on Kayo Sports.
Asofa-Solomona maintained he had simply called Gallen’s wife a “smart lady”.
But the explanation did little to calm the former NSW Origin captain.
“You brought up my wife,” Gallen said.
“One thing people don’t do in professional sport is bring up families, and you brought up my wife.
“I’m telling you right now, if I sit you down on Friday night, I’m gonna kick your f**king head off shoulders, you mutt.”
Asofa-Solomona immediately challenged Gallen to act on his threat.
“I’m right here … Let’s go,” he replied.
“I said your wife is a smart lady.”
Gallen repeatedly told his opponent: “You don’t bring up blokes’ families.”
“I’m just saying she’s a smart lady. I’m Polish, she’s Polish,” Asofa-Solomona replied.
Gallen remained unimpressed.
“You’re a mutt and a dumbass.”
When Big Nasty again challenged him to “do something”, Gallen said any fighting could wait until they were being paid.
“Why do it now? We aren’t getting paid now. I came out of retirement for money. Why would I fight you now?” he said.
“I finish you on Friday and then you are done. You are going nowhere anyway.”
Gallen then turned his attention from his rival’s comments to whether NAS had the heart to handle what was coming.
“Your heart’s the problem. You’ve got a f**ken pea heart,” Gallen said.
“He can have the biggest will in the world, he’s got no heart. End of.”
Asofa-Solomona’s response was brief.
“Keep telling yourself that. I’ll see you in the middle.”
The pair then came together for a frosty face-off ahead of Friday night’s heavyweight clash.
But Gallen was still seething when interviewed afterwards, insisting Asofa-Solomona’s explanation did nothing to change his view.
“You start talking about someone’s wife … You don’t talk about people’s families,” he said.
“Any bloke that thinks that is acceptable behaviour is not a bloke I want to hang around. He’s a rat and a dog and my opinion of that won’t change.
“To bring my wife into, to say you should listen to your wife, that’s just … s*** thing to do.”
Asofa-Solomona also offered his explanation afterwards, saying the comment referred to a report that Gallen’s wife had advised him against taking the fight.
“There was an article saying his wife actually advised him not to fight and I said ‘hey your wife is a smart lady. You should have listened to her’.
“That’s all I said and if he wants to take that personally that’s going to come at the detriment of him.”
The bad blood wasn’t confined to the heavyweights, with lightweight rivals Ahmad Reda and Jake Wyllie continuing their heated feud ahead of their undercard clash.
Wyllie had earlier angered Reda by suggesting the undefeated Sydneysider would soon be back working in his supermarket.
And after Wyllie promised to knock him out on Friday, Reda turned the taunt back on the Queenslander, offering him a job in the supermarket once he was finished with him.
“Afeter I knock you out, or bash you for ten rounds,” said Reda.
“And you need a job, I’ve got you covered.”
Two world title fights on the Gold CoastBoxing: Tim Tszyu will fight Erislandy Lara for the WBA Middlweight World Championship as the headline for a HUGE boxing event on the Gold Coast on December 13.
Meanwhile, the press conference also brought confirmation that Tim Tszyu will face Erislandy Lara on the Gold Coast on December 13.
Tszyu will challenge Lara for the WBA middleweight title as he bids to become a two-division world champion.
The card will also feature former undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo against Australia’s Brock Jarvis, while Liam Wilson will fight Elnur Samedov for a world title.
Originally published as ‘S*** thing to do’: Gallen fumes over Nelson wife comment as threat made at spiteful presser