Maybe it was instinct when Paul Gallen dropped Justis Huni with a copybook around-the-bootlaces tackle in their Australian heavyweight title fight.
The NRL great was under fire in the 10th and final round and looking to clinch, then stumbled as Huni moved backwards. Gallen kept his arms wrapped around Huni and as he slipped down to the ankles, Huni was levelled, rugby league style.
It made for a striking spectacle - Huni is tall timber, standing 193cm.
It offered a brief moment of levity during a brutal contest, in which Gallen proved beyond doubt that he's one of Australia's toughest men. The fight was stopped soon after, though Gallen got up from a knockdown insisting, "I'm good!"
"How tough is Paul Gallen, I can't believe it," Aussie boxing legend Jeff Fenech said on Main Event's commentary.
"He was gone and he wanted to get up and fight again. Amazing."
Gallen had won just one of the nine previous rounds on the judges' scorecards. He was outclassed by Huni, 17 years his junior and a born boxer, yet stunned Australia with his courage and determination.
"While he knocked me down fair and square, I thought the referee stopped it early, but I was never going to win the fight," Gallen said.
"I think he broke my rib in about the second round. I just couldn't get off, every time I moved it kept clicking."
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/news/paul-gallen-tackles-justis-huni-10th-round-boxing-fight/c20700cd-6323-402b-814d-3969fa0f8d8a
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