'He broke my rib': Paul Gallen's fight revelation rocks $1.1m Justis Huni slugfest

Paul Gallen believes he suffered a broken rib in the second round of his loss to Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni, taking an already courageous performance to herculean levels.

Huni moved a step closer to his Olympic medal dreams tonight after overcoming a risk-fraught hurdle in Gallen at Sydney's ICC.

It took Huni nine-and-a-half rounds to eventually down the former Cronulla Sharks star in an at times sickening, one-sided affair that saw Gallen refuse to fall despite eating a glut of punishment.

The tone was set early when Huni came out of the blocks with blistering speed, stinging Gallen with some lightning combinations that quickly welcomed the ex-footy star to a new level of boxing.

Gallen would survive the early onslaught to ride through a dip of pace in the middle rounds, before falling by way of a brutal TKO in the 10th.

But in a mind-boggling show of strength, Gallen revealed post-fight that he battled through the majority of the bout with a suspected broken rib.

"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."

Speaking to media following his win, Huni confirmed that he sensed an issue with Gallen early in the fight.

"I did hear him grunting when I was hitting the body," Huni conceded.

"He's a tough competitor, and he didn't show it at all. Props to him."

For all of his detractors, there will be none who could question Gallen's bravery as he refused to give in, walking down the champion time again amid a sea of devastating combinations.

Despite the result, questions will ultimately still be asked of Huni's one-punch knockout power after a barrage of flush power shots failed to fell the Sharks great.

It would ultimately be volume that would have the champ moving off with his fifth professional win, putting him in good stead ahead of the Tokyo games.

The win undoubtedly makes Huni a household name ahead of his Olympic campaign, perhaps an incentive for accepting the risky bout so close to the delayed 2020 Games.

The victory also ends Gallen's undefeated foray into the world of professional boxing. He will earn an estimated $1.1 million for the bout.