A furious Paul Gallen has labelled Nelson Asofa-Solomona “a rat” who can’t sell shows, which is why promoter No Limit “begged me to come out of retirement” as their November 6 heavyweight showdown has finally been locked in.

Code Sports can confirm Gallen will step into the boxing ring for the first time in 16 months on Friday, November 6 in Sydney in a five round main event against ex-Melbourne Storm prop Asofa-Solomona.

Gallen says his “body is f***ed” after he ran the Sydney marathon last month, but the former Sharks and New South Wales State of Origin captain is desperate to teach ‘Big Nasty’ a lesson about respect.

Gallen – who headlined numerous cards with No Limit – says he gave Asofa-Solomona valuable information about what to expect and how to navigate the move into professional boxing last year.

“I went in to bat for him with Matt Rose and told him a lot about No Limit and gave him all the inside info,” Gallen told Code Sports. “I told him to his face where I was at with boxing, and told him intimate details about No Limit and other plans.

“I told him to ask about this and that.

“I gave it all to him.

“Six months later, he gets a fight with Jeremy Latimore and his name hasn’t been out of my mouth since.

“It’s pissed me off. He’s a rat.”

Asofa-Solomona signed a longterm boxing deal with No Limit after leaving rugby league a year ago, winning three fights against fellow former footballers Latimore, Jarrod Wallace and George Burgess.

‘Big Nasty’ was touted as the most dangerous puncher to ever make the switch, but Gallen says that’s far from the reality.

“If he was doing his job, they wouldn’t need me,” he said. “If No Limit had a boxer in their stable that was selling shows, why would they ring me?

“It’s entertainment. People want to see people doing things they can’t do.

“If they had anyone doing that, or if Nelson was selling shows, they wouldn’t need me to come back.

“He can’t sell shows. He’s had three fights and it hasn’t changed their bottom line.

“If it had, they wouldn’t be begging me to come out of retirement.”

In a 16-2-1 professional career, Gallen’s only losses were in Australian heavyweight title bouts against Justis Huni and Kris Terzievski.

He hasn’t fought since a split decision win over Sonny Bill Williams in July last year though, and says Asofa-Solomona has been cherry-picking opponents.

“He’s dangerous, but he’s going nowhere with it,” he said. “He retired from footy and has fought three footballers with one fight between them.

“Now he wants to fight a 45-year-old.

“He can fight, he can punch, but big blokes like that have never had to take care of themselves before.

“They haven’t had to deal with it.

“People know I’m going to dig in, have a crack and he’ll have to find something he’s never had to find before.”

With the fight still seven weeks away, Gallen has warned Asofa-Solomona not to resort to holding and clinching to run down the clock.

“The biggest thing for me is if it turns into a hug-fest,” he said. “That’s what he’ll want, but you cannot hold in boxing.

“I saw it over and over. The ending with George Burgess was basically because Burgess was falling over because he was so unfit.

“Sonny got away with it against me too because he was the A-side – like Nelson will be.

“I think I’ll box him. Everyone knows what I’m like. I’ll show up, I’ll be there in his face for five rounds and I’ll have a red hot crack.”

For his part, Asofa-Solomona said Gallen is living in the past.

“I’m happy for him to keep living in the past, talking about blokes he beat years ago, because I don’t care what he did five years ago,” he said. “I care about November 6.

“Enjoy the build up and all the memories, old boy.

“Come fight night, there’ll be a new memory for everyone.

“Sadly, you won’t remember it though.”