Liam Messam has made a 3-0 start to his professional boxing career. Photo / Getty Images
Liam Messam has made a 3-0 start to his professional boxing career. Photo / Getty Images
Liam Messam and Keven Mealamu could be looking to follow the Paul Gallen model, with eyes on dabbling in the professional boxing ranks.
The former All Blacks will both be competing at the Fight for Life on Thursday night, against James Gavet and Wairangi Koopu respectively, and are looking tobuild toward something new.
For Messam, the step inside the ring won't be anything new. He has fought on the Fight for Life stage before – fighting Wendell Sailor in 2011 before taking on Gallen in 2013 – and holds a 3-0 professional record. For Mealamu, Thursday night's showcase will be his first foray into the sport.
Speaking ahead of the event, Mealamu said the sport was an alluring road to take for athletes who still wanted to test themselves after their initial career had come to a close.
"I think it just comes down to the individual. Some of our good friends Kieran Read and Richie McCaw, they've gone to ultra-marathons. My body's not built for that sort of stuff. Three two-minute rounds, or three-minute rounds, that sounds more like me; that fits in my body profile and the genes that I have," Mealamu said.
"I think coming from a physical sport as well, something that drew me to rugby was the physical nature of it, but also like boxing there's a real science to it as well. I think that's something we can take out of rugby and boxing – they're contact sports that are pretty much played like chess."
Keven Mealamu and Wairangi Koopu will headline the Fight For Life this week. Photo / Supplied
It was a sentiment echoed by Messam.
"I'd love to play rugby until I'm 50, but unfortunately I can't at a high end, so for me this is a great way to stay motivated and stay fit. I love the sport and I respect the sport, so I always give the sport that respect by training hard," he said.
"You either love it or you don't; that's what I've found. Some people are really keen to tick it off their bucket list and get into the ring or train for it, but then you won't see them again. I actually love the training and the boxing, and funnily enough I love getting hit – which probably comes from a rugby thing. I don't want to get hit in the head too many times, but I enjoy that one-on-one battle."
Both men credited what Gallen had gone on to achieve in the sport in recent years after retiring from rugby league. A former participant on the Fight for Life stage, Gallen has gone on to have a lucrative professional career.
He doesn't shy away from the fact he is a prize fighter, and big name bouts against the likes of Justis Huni, Mark Hunt and Lucas Browne have been big drawcards across the Tasman. Since the start of 2019 – his final year in the NRL - Gallen has had seven fights for a 4-2-1 record, improving his record to 12-2-1 overall, with wins over Hunt and Browne while he fought for the Australian heavyweight title in his most recent bout.
While Mealamu was yet to make his boxing debut, that is a pathway he would like to follow in some way shape or form, while Messam said he wouldn't mind a shot at the New Zealand heavyweight title one day.
"That would be nice," Messam said of working towards a shot at the New Zealand belt. "A good friend of mine, Sonny Bill, had one once, so that would be nice to have on the CV. But you have to earn it and work for it, and I'm willing to do that.
"I'd love to go overseas and be able to do that. The thing with boxing is also the out of the ring. Paul Gallen is a great example of what he's done for league players and rugby players, so we'll see what happens. I'll just take it each fight as it comes.
"I know I won't ever be fighting for a world title, but I just love the sport ... You don't play boxing; it's a very dangerous sport and you have to put the work in."
Keven Mealamu v Wairangi Koopu Andrei Mikhailovich v Francis Waitai (pro bout) Liam Messam v James Gavet Carlos Spencer v Paul Whatuira Jerome Pampellone v Joshua Francis (pro bout) Jay Reeve v Tammy Davis Honey Hireme-Smiler v Tegan Yorwarth
Available on Sky Arena or Sky Sport Now pay-per-view for $49.95.
