Rugby league great and boxing star Paul Gallen has shut down a potential bout with Robert Whittaker, instead calling out rising star Justis Huni.
The 39-year old shocked the world recently when he defeated former world champion Lucas Browne in the first round, cementing himself once again as a real boxer as opposed to a retired footballer.
Gallen now has plenty of people calling him out and wanting to fight him - especially with the pay-day that comes with it.
The former Cronulla Sharks captain called out Whittaker in December after he defeated Mark Hunt, but believes that fight is unlikely to happen despite the UFC star's recent comments.
“Everyone is tagging me in this Rob Whittaker stuff. Let’s be honest – Rob Whittaker has had a war with (Kelvin) Gastelum, he’s in quarantine and he’s not doing nothing in the next five or six weeks," he said via Instagram.
"Do you really reckon the UFC is going to let him fight me before he fights for a title later in the year?
"Mark Hunt was gonna kill me, Lucas Browne was gonna kill me.
"You imagine I beat Rob Whittaker before he fought for the UFC title? It would be an embarrassment."
Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum via decision less than two weeks ago, but admitted during the week that a fight with Gallen would 'be interesting' and that he has the time to do it.
But with a likely rematch against Israel Adesanya for the middleweight strap later this year, Dana White and company would be reluctant to let the Aussie star fight elsewhere
That left Gallen to call out Huni, who is managed by Dean Lonergan, and told the pair to 'up their offer' if they want the fight to happen.
“Then there’s of course Justis Huni. I have been talking to Dean Lonergan, he has made me an offer, as has been reported today," he said.
"Dean, sharpen your pencil mate. You want me in the ring with him, sharpen your pencil – it’s nowhere near what I will accept for the fight. You need to fix it up.
"You want it to happen, make it happen. Sharpen the pencil, ring me back – you’ve got my number.
"If you didn’t hear it from me, it’s not really happening."
Gallen remains undefeated in the ring, with the only blemish on his record being a draw against Barry Hall in 2019.
