Nelson Asofa-Solomona says Paul Gallen initiated boxing showdown, latest news ahead of heavyweight bout

Paul Gallen has made plenty of noise about Nelson Asofa-Solomona wanting to fight him.

But according to the former Melbourne Storm enforcer, it was Gallen who came calling.

And seven years after a heated encounter on the footy field left Asofa-Solomona thinking they would eventually meet in the ring, the heavyweights will finally settle things in Sydney on Friday night.

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.

Speaking on Josh Mansour’s Unscripted podcast, Big Nasty offered his version of how the blockbuster showdown came together – claiming Gallen wanted to get him before he became too good.

Asofa-Solomona said he was at the gym training earlier this year when he was called into a meeting.

His first thought was that something had gone wrong.

“My trainer and my manager were at training, and (manager) Jake (Ellis) said, ‘can you see me after training?’” Asofa-Solomona said.

“And I thought, No Limit Boxing were gonna cut me. I thought the worst.”

Instead, he was presented with the fight he had wanted.

“I come upstairs, and he goes, ‘Gallen wants to fight you now’,” he said.

“And it (my response) was immediate. I was keen straight away.”

Asofa-Solomona said his team told him Gallen wanted to get him now – before he got any better and Gallen got any older.

“Basically, what they said was, Gallen wants to fight you now because … he’s getting older. He’ll be 46 next year,” he said.

“And, also, if I fight two more fights, I’ll be too good for him. And he wants to get you now…

“So he initiated the fight. He wanted it. We wanted it as well.”

Pressed by Mansour on whether Gallen had been the one who instigated the showdown, NAS stood by his account.

“Like I said it’s the fight that I’ve always wanted, and I’ve always been respectful, but I’ve always said, you know, it’s the money that will get Paul going out of bed,” he said.

“But, yeah, like I said, he wants to fight now because he’s not getting any younger.”

While the negotiations came much later, Asofa-Solomona traces the roots of their feud to a confrontation during their NRL days.

Back in 2019, the Storm giant was involved in a heated exchange with Cronulla prop Andrew Fifita when Gallen entered the picture.

“We had a run-in in 2019. It was at the end of the game. I think it was a bit of a push and shove. And Andrew Fifita and I were going at it,” he said.

“And Paul Gallen sort of came out of nowhere. We engaged in a bit of a thing there. And I think that’s sort of where it started.”

What stayed with him was the thought that followed.

Asofa-Solomona had yet to begin his own boxing career, but something about the encounter convinced him their paths would cross again.

“And weirdly enough, I had nothing to do with boxing at the time, but he was the man in boxing,” he said.

“And for some reason, it crossed my mind. I’m gonna fight this guy one day. And here we are now.”

Now that the fight is just days away, Asofa-Solomona is expecting an ugly fight from Gallen.

“He likes to sit on your chest all day and just make a mess of things,” he said.

“You know, sometimes he likes to punch people in the back of the head as well.

“He’s a bit of a grub, man.”

Keeping Gallen away and on the end of his punches will be central to Big Nasty’s approach.

But while he says he is prepared for a longer fight, he believes he can finish the job early.

“We’re prepared for every scenario. I’m ready to go,” he said.

“I believe I’ll get the job done early.”

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Beyond Gallen, NAS has ambitions of fighting for the Australian heavyweight title – a goal he has discussed with his coach.

“We understand that that’s gonna be very tough, and it’s a long way away,” he said.

“But you have to dream big.

“Ultimately, I’m not looking past this big fight in front of me.”

And when Mansour asked him to sum up Gallen in one word, NAS took a moment before delivering one last jab.

“Midget.”