Earlier today in Australia, the career of Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne may well have come to a crashing end. Countryman Paul Gallen sensationally iced Browne in the very first round, his shots to the head sending Browne down twice.
It was all over after a little under two minutes and Gallen, now 11-0-9(6) scored the biggest win of his career by far. Browne, far more experienced and the heavy favorite going into the fight, was simply destroyed. Browne falls to 29-3(25) and it’s tough to see where the 42-year-old goes from here other than in retirement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kf_73Lmwy0
Former Rugby League player Gallen, a pro since 2014 and having a break in 2018, was taking a big step up in class, even if Browne is not the fighter he once was. But Gallen, who showed good power and speed of hand today, wiped out Browne. A sharp right hand shot to the temple scored for Gallen, with Browne trying to feign not being hurt, but then a right hand to the head scored the first knockdown. Browne was up quickly but he was soon hurt again. In fact, he never recovered from the first couple of right hands.
A flurry of shots sent Browne down for a second time and though the veteran again tried to get up and carry on, his legs had gone and the referee called the fight off. Time was 1:53. Where 39-year-old Gallen goes next could prove interesting.
“I said to myself all day and to my team that I’d knock him out in the first round,” a victorious Gallen said. “I have been training to be a boxer for the last ten months. It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. I tore my bicep ten weeks out from the fight so it’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.”
Gallen could go on to feature in some big heavyweight fights. Browne, who had a good career, holding as he did the WBA heavyweight title for a brief spell, has been pretty much finished at top level since his heavy KO loss to Dillian Whyte; Browne later being stopped by Dave Allen. Again, it’s tough to see him fighting on after this.