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Boxing: Hall and Gallen draw their short ‘code war’ bout

Paul Gallen and Barry Hall during their short, drawn bout.

Paul Gallen and Barry Hall during their short, drawn bout. Photo: AAP

Former league star Paul Gallen and ex-AFL player Barry Hall may be set for a rematch after their “Code War” fight in Melbourne ended in a draw.

Squaring off over six two-minute rounds on Friday, the fight was scored a majority draw.

One judge at Margaret Court Arena scored Gallen ahead 58-56 while the other two scored the fight 57-57.

Gallen kept his 10-fight unbeaten record intact while Hall was making his debut in front of a vocal pro-AFL crowd.

The pair traded some big shots as they searched for a knock-out blow in an even contest with both believing they’d done enough to get the win.

Gallen said a draw “felt like a loss” and lashed out at the judges.

“I’m disappointed with a draw,” he said. “One judge had it right and the other two had it wrong.

“He hit me with some good clean shots and probably won one or two rounds but for me boxing is about who is the aggressor, who lands more shots.

“Blind Freddy could see I landed more shots and kept coming forward … he was just constantly trying to survive.”

Gallen, who retired at the end of the NRL season after 19 years, said he was planning a holiday before considering his next boxing move.

He said it “made sense” to have a rematch.

“I’m more than happy to do it again … but we will have to get some judges who can score.”

Hall also thought he had the upperhand and said he landed cleaner shots.

The 42-year-old said he should have trusted trainer Angelo Hyder, who told him that Gallen was “gassed”.

“Angelo was saying at the end of the fourth, ‘You’ve got him’ and I didn’t go, so it’s my fault.

“I was trying to conserve energy as I thought he was going to kick in the last round and he didn’t.

“I probably could have put a bit more pressure on him late, seeing him backing up and breathing quite heavily, I had my opportunity to press him a bit more.

“I didn’t, but that’s my inexperience.”

The AFL premiership captain said while he loved the experience, he wouldn’t make a decision on another fight until talking to his family.

-AAP

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