Loser boxer demolished by Paul Gallen claims his hearing is damaged – as he denies 'taking a dive'


The washed-up boxing champ destroyed by NRL legend Paul Gallen in a farcical match has denied he took a dive and come up with excuses.

Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne took to Instagram the night after being floored twice by Gallen inside two minutes to defend himself against social media attacks.

A video posted after the fight showed Browne eating junk food shortly before the fight – earning him a barrage of criticism.

Former champion Lucas Browne took to instagram to defend himself after taking a beating from former NRL legend Paul Gallen, including showing where Gallen hit him

Former champion Lucas Browne took to instagram to defend himself after taking a beating from former NRL legend Paul Gallen, including showing where Gallen hit him

‘It’s so f**king sad to see so many bulls**t comments, attacks, haters and people saying I took a dive,’ Browne wrote in response.

‘I had a fight, I fought s**t, couldn’t recover, have been out the ring for too long and got beat, end of story.’

His last fight before Gallen was a stoppage of John Hopoate in 2019, whom Gallen also stopped.

Despite partly blaming his 18 month break from the ring for the loss – sometimes known as ‘ring rust’ – he also seemed to suggest he didn’t have enough preparation time.

‘It was a very short period we had to work with, there’s going to be a lot more coming forward as well,’ he claimed in the video on Instagram. 

Browne was totally outclassed by Gallen in the former Cronulla Sharks skipper’s 12 professional fight.

Big Daddy down... Lucas Browne was a huge disappointment in his first round loss to Paul Gallen on Wednesday

Big Daddy down… Lucas Browne was a huge disappointment in his first round loss to Paul Gallen on Wednesday

Paul Gallen was pumped after blitzing Lucas Browne in an impressive performance

Paul Gallen was pumped after blitzing Lucas Browne in an impressive performance

Browne, 42, looked slow and appeared to lack power against a much fitter and faster Gallen, 39.

Despite being the heavy favourite and having huge advantages in height, reach and experience, Browne turned in a lumbering performance.

The 6’5 Browne is 18cm taller than Gallen and has a 17cm edge in reach and had 31 professional fights, including winning the WBA belt from Ruslan Chagaev in 2016.

‘I got in there, had a go, failed, and that’s it… full credit to Gallen. Thank you to the fans, supporters and sponsors, and I do apologise.’

The victorious Gallen also denied rumours Browne intentionally lost the fight, or that that $60 pay-per-view match was rigged.

‘There’s no way he took a dive. I flat-out bashed him, to be honest with you,’ Gallen said, news.com.au reported.

‘I have no doubt he took me lightly. I said that throughout the whole build-up. He thought he was going to walk through me.’ 

Browne also posted a video showing off a few scrapes – and importantly referring to hearing loss in his left ear, from Gallen’s punches.

‘Got a few little marks here and there, and I can’t hear out of my left ear,’ Browne said.

‘I’m assuming that was the shots across the top, but everything seems to be fine,’ Browne said.  

He claimed a punch to the back of the head was his downfall as he was wobbled and couldn’t recover to win the fight.

‘I’m not marked up… I believe I got hit on the back of the head, behind the ear and it f**ked up my equilibrium and I basically couldn’t recover,’ he said. 

Sore and sorry: Lucas Browne showed off his injuries on Instagram after the big fight and apologised to fans

Sore and sorry: Lucas Browne showed off his injuries on Instagram after the big fight and apologised to fans

Browne told his 'haters' he did not take a dive: 'I got in there, had a go, failed, and that's it' he said - but he also blamed ring rust and a short preparation time

Browne told his ‘haters’ he did not take a dive: ‘I got in there, had a go, failed, and that’s it’ he said – but he also blamed ring rust and a short preparation time

In the fight Browne did appear to cop several blows to his left ear from Gallen.

There are precedents in recent boxing history for shock losses after favoured boxers took hits to the ear, including world champion Anthony Joshua in his loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019.

But Ruiz was a known quantity and highly regarded as a boxer. 

In one of the most spectacular upsets in boxing history Australian Danny Green stopped American legend Roy Jones jr in 2009 after hitting him behind the left ear early in the fight.

After Browne made his excuses, he did offer thanks to his team. 

‘What I do want to say is a massive thank you to the fans and the supporters, also all the sponsors that have helped me get here as well.

‘Learning a lot, looking forward to what’s coming next.’ 

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