Consider the feud squashed.
As Paul Gallen stood in the ring, arms raised after being announced the winner in his long-awaited bout against Sonny Bill Williams, Gallen got a sense of closure.
Gallen, 43, took home a split-decision win over Williams, with judges scoring the bout 77-74 and 76-75 in his favour, with the other scoring it 77-74 in Williams’ favour.
“Sonny just came up to me and said he wants to have a coffee man to man. I’ll honour that. I have my fights, I finish my fights, I move on with life. I’m not going to bring this up or talk about it or carry on,” Gallen told Stan Sport.
“I’ll get asked about it in the coming days and I’ll answer the questions, but I’m not going to gloat. It’s been a long time coming, I got the job done and that’s all that matters. Life goes on now.
“Me and Sonny had a decent chat just then. I sincerely wish the best to him and his family. Me and him, we’re like oil and water. We’re never going to break bread but I’m willing to have a coffee and catch up man to man. I wish all the best for him and his family.”
Gallen was the more aggressive of the fighters throughout the contest, pushing forward consistently, throwing with volume and having plenty of success with body shots in the eight two-minute rounds.
While Williams had success in some rounds, appearing to have Gallen hurt in the second round, the Australian was able to dictate the action. When Williams put combinations together and looked to throw, he often had success. However, he was outworked by Gallen.
Williams also had a point deducted late in the fight for holding onto Gallen in the clinch, after previous warnings by the referee. He was later warned with the threat of a disqualification as he continued to hold on.
Gallen seemed flabbergasted as to how one judge scored the bout for Williams
“I definitely lost one round. The second round, I definitely lost. There was one other pretty close one, and he got a point taken off. How the hell does he win?
“Anyway, that’s life. I got the win. That’s all that matters. it’ll be there forever.”
Earlier in the night, Kiwi cruiserweight David Nyika made a successful return to the ring with a fifth-round stoppage win against New Zealand veteran Nik Charalampous.
Nyika looked sharp from the outset, working behind a long, strong jab and landing plenty of good shots.
While Charalampous was able to test Nyika’s chin a few times, the volume added up for Nyika.
Before the fifth round, Charalampous was assessed by the ringside doctor as a lump had formed on his forehead. He asked for one more round and was given it.
After the fifth round, his corner had seen enough.
It was a strong way to return to the ring for Nyika, following his knockout loss to IBF world cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia in his short-notice title bout in January.
“It’s been tough,” Nyika told Stan Sport.
“This has been the biggest task of my life, just coming back into the ring. I’m not a violent guy - I really am the nice guy. This is really difficult for me. I might make it look easy, but, man, this has been a struggle for me. Thank you everybody for being here.”
As for what was next, Nyika, who weighed in at 90.2kg despite it being an 98kg catchweight fight, was looking to work his way back into the title picture as welcomed whatever matchup would help that cause.
“I made weight only because I’m a consummate professional. I’m a cruiserweight boxer, I want to get back to that world title. If that’s Jai [Opetaia], if that’s Badou Jack, if that’s Zurdo Ramirez, I’ll take any of them.
“I just need to take it one step at a time and this is the first big step, so thank you everyone for being here to support me.”
Paul Gallen beat Sonny Bill Williams by split decision.
Clay Waterman beat Mose Auimatagi Jnr by unanimous decision,
Kris Terzievski beat Troy Pilcher by sixth-round stoppage.
Johan Linde beat Kane Baker by split decision.
David Nyika beat Nik Charalampous by fifth-round stoppage.
Rahim Mundine beat Joe Vatusaqata by second-round stoppage.
Alex Leapai Jnr beat Herve Silu Mata by first-round stoppage.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.