Paul Gallen has responded to John Hopoate's taunts by accepting to fight the disgraced rugby league bad boy on February 8 at Sydney's Hordern Pavillion.
A frustrated Hopoate labelled Gallen a ''coward'' last week as ongoing negotiations had stalled with the Cronulla captain refusing to sign a contract.
But Gallen will resume his boxing career after a year layoff against the NRL's most suspended player in history in a two-villain showdown, where fans will be begging for a knockout from either corner of the ring.
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His wishes may have come true but Hopoate was still bitter at the fight announcement, delivering a brutal sledge to Gallen.
“I’ll end his sporting career, he can sit in retirement with his coach,'' Hopoate said.
The comment is in relation to Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan's recent ban from the NRL for breaching the terms of his 2014 peptides supension.
Sporting News understands the bout was originally scheduled to headline an NRL fight night card on November 10 in Sydney, however the date was postponed to February after Gallen only finished his duties with Cronulla in late September.
The undercard will feature boxing prodigy Tim Tszyu.
The Star of the Ring event has been the highest rating boxing promotion in Fox Sports history in its previous two meetings.
Paul Gallen v John Hopoate - Friday, February 8 at the Hordern Pavilion. Undercard featuring Tim Tszyu. Tickets at Ticketek. Broadcast on Main Event TV #boxing pic.twitter.com/d5sHJafZDh
— Ben Damon (@ben_damon) December 20, 2018
Gallen has long called for Sonny Bill Williams to accept his challenge, dragging out their ongoing sledging war throughout last month to breath hope into a possible clash.
The pair reportedly agreed to terms to fight in July, 2017 before the protracted negotiations broke down.
There is a slim hope Williams could make Gallen's dream come true after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Instead, the ex-NSW skipper will have to settle for Hopoate who amassed a 12-5 professional record before hanging up the gloves in 2010.
Hopoate, 44, lost his last two professional bouts against Colin Wilson (by knockout) and Shane Cameron (DQ) before retiring.
Gallen is 8-0 as a professional after making his boxing bow in 2014.
His most recent fight was against Puna Rasaubale last November, scoring a unanimous decision.
