Justin Hodges' court bid after Paul Gallen boxing furore: 'F***ing cheat'

Justin Hodges is planning to launch legal action in a sensational bid to overturn the result of his boxing match against Paul Gallen, accusing his former rugby league rival of 'f***ing cheating'.

Gallen triumphed against Hodges soon after his earlier bout against Ben Hannan earlier on the same night, part of a highly-touted rugby league boxing showdown.

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The second bout proved somewhat controversial though, particularly a moment in the second round in which Gallen pushed Hodges up against the ropes and nearly over them.

He got a punch in on Hodges while all that was happening, a shot Hodges believes was illegal.

Hodges is also claiming that, after taking a knee following the aforementioned punch, referee Tony Kettlewell had erred in requiring him to stand up.

Gallen and Hodges have committed to another bout, but as of yet no contracts have been signed or dates locked in.

The potential court action Hodges is planning will allege that he should have been given a five-minute window to recover from the illegal blow, which he says 'muddled me up', and that if he had been unable to fight on after that he should have won via disqualification.

In an interview with Fox Sports, Hodges likened Gallen's punch on the ropes to Ivan Drago's ruthless tactics in the film Rocky IV.

“What Gal did there was f***ing cheating,” he said.

“He had me back against the ropes, halfway over the ropes, and hit me illegally.

“So if Gal doesn’t cheat, and if the referee does his job I go on to win.

“Immediately after the fight, I never said anything because I had my children with me. Plus, I didn’t want to disrespect the sport by whinging.

“But as time has gone on … what happened has just really pissed me off."

Justin Hodges planning court appeal over Paul Gallen defeat

Hodges was not only aggravated by Gallen's tactics, but also left disappointed in referee Kettleworth.

He said his appeal was also based on Kettleworth overlooking Gallen's illegal punches, as well as not following protocol in refusing to stop the fight and insisting Hodges get up.

“The referee just told me ‘don’t milk it, get up’,” Hodges said of the moment he took a knee..

“I’ve been told since that I should’ve been given up to five minutes to recover, and that if I couldn’t continue, Gal should have been disqualified.

“But because the referee told me to get up, I thought that’s what I had to do. So I got up. But that punch had rocked me and you could then see the flow on effect because of what happened there.

“It was cheating. And that’s why I’ve lodged an appeal.”

The tense moment over the ropes prompted criticism in the commentary booth from Australian boxing great Jeff Fenech, who openly questioned whether Hodges would win via disqualification.

“He was pushed over the rope and hit. How illegal is it?" Fenech said on the night.

“I know they’re football players but ‘wow’.

“If Justin Hodges stays down, he wins by disqualification.”

Hodges confirmed that both he and Gallen intended to go ahead with their agreed-upon rematch, but that it was presently in the hands of promotors No Limit.

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