"And that's just attrition, you get older.<\/p>\n
"And that's when I knew it was time to retire."<\/p>\n
Now 39, Gallen knew within himself that it was time to hang up the boots and he reckons Mark Hunt does too.<\/p>\n
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Gallen has repeatedly taunted the 46-year-old about being washed in the build-up to next week's Sydney Superfight and even took the dangerous step of declaring Hunt's once fearsome power as wildly overrated.<\/a><\/p>\n Only Gallen doesn't view it as dangerous.<\/p>\n Just fact.<\/p>\n He sees it in Hunt's eyes and when he huffs and puffs in the training ring.<\/p>\n Father Time is undefeated, after all.<\/p>\n "You can't beat experience but there comes a point when experience tips over the edge and you become done," Gallen said.<\/p>\n "He's done, he's had his time.<\/p>\n "I learnt that in rugby league.<\/p>\n "He talks about himself as the best fighter in the world.<\/p>\n "He's not.<\/p>\n "He's been very good for a long time and I'm a huge Mark Hunt fan but when you start talking about some of the blokes he's fought, Junior dos Santos and guys like that, they're at another level.<\/p>\n "He's had a wonderful career and done amazing things, been a K1 world champion and all the rest of it, but they're just at another level.<\/p>\n "And if you haven't got it inside you to just train that extra bit, you're going to get found out."<\/p>\n Work ethic and toughness were Gallen's calling cards on the footy field.<\/p>\n Never the most talented, consistency and mental strength allowed him to play a ridiculous 348 games for the Sharks across 19 NRL seasons.<\/p>\n That inner drive and determination is why he decided to press on, not give up, when he tore his bicep in training.<\/a><\/p>\n "The arm's fine now.<\/p>\n "I haven't missed a beat for the last two or three weeks.<\/p>\n "Obviously not sparring for six weeks with the bicep injury is not ideal at all but I'm as good as I can be at the moment.<\/p>\n "After I had my slip up I had a drink because I thought I was gone but the last two months have been all concentration for this fight.<\/p>\n "I've been really disciplined with my whole life."<\/p>\n While Gallen has played the trash talking game when the cameras are rolling, he's much more subdued and introspective one-on-one with a humble voice recorder.<\/p>\n He genuinely believes that Hunt's powers are greatly diminished but is smart enough to respect the immense danger those battle scarred hands present.<\/p>\n Traditionally a push forward fighter, Gallen (9-0-1) will have to adapt his tactics if he is to cause a boil-over against the UFC veteran at Bankwest Stadium on Wednesday.<\/p>\n "I've got the edge in fitness but as he said, getting punched takes gas out of you.<\/p>\n "So I've got to be careful not to get punched.<\/p>\n "That's the way it's going to be, just not get caught.<\/p>\n "Because I'm going to get hit, in boxing everyone gets hit, but I just can't get caught with something big."<\/p>\n Conversely, Gallen knows he is unlikely to drop Hunt to the canvas.<\/p>\n "I think far more likely is probably points but it doesn't matter, a win's a win.<\/p>\n "That's one thing that Alex Leapai talked about when we sparred \u2013 a win's a win.<\/p>\n "It's a not about proving how tough you are, you've got to win the fight and that's all I'm here to do.<\/p>\n "I don't give a s*** about his legacy or what people think of me."<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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