Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne: From the Penthouse Suite to the Basement

March 5, 2016 was a memorable day in the history of Australian professional boxing. On that date, Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne became the first Australian to win a world heavyweight title when he stopped Ruslan Chagaev before a hostile crowd in Grozny, Russia.

Browne, who first laced on a pair of boxing gloves at age 29, defeated Chagaev in Rocky-esque fashion, making his triumph all the sweeter. Knocked down in the sixth frame, Browne was leaking blood from two facial cuts and down deep on the scorecards when he rallied to stop Chagaev in the 10^th.

Since that glorious moment, things haven’t gone well for the big Aussie. He never lost his title in the ring, but his career floundered and earlier this week it went completely to pieces when he was stopped in the opening round by 39-year-old, near-novice Paul Gallen.

Browne’s title was stripped from him when his post-fight urine test turned up evidence of the banned substance Clenbuterol. Big Daddy vehemently denied that he was a drug cheat. He suggested that he may have been sabotaged — Grozny, the capital of Chechen Russia, is notoriously uncongenial toward non-Muslim outsiders – and he threatened legal action.

Many in the boxing community gave Browne the benefit of the doubt, but then his “B” sample also turned up positive and his sympathizers fell silent.

Browne had seven fights between his match with Chagaev and his encounter this week with Paul Gallen. He won five, four coming against opponents with losing records and the other against 46-year-old John Hopoate. His two losses – which came at the hands of Dillian Whyte and David Allen – were the first losses of his pro career, but they were very bad losses. Whyte gave Big Daddy a bad beating before knocking him out cold in the sixth round with a frightful left hook. Allen, a journeyman with a 16-4-2 record, took Browne out in the third round with a body punch.

The loss to David Allen was foreshadowed by his previous bout, a 6-rounder against Kamil Sokolowski, a durable but limited Pole who took the fight on short notice. Sokolowski, who had a 6-14 record, knocked Browne down with a stiff jab in the second round. From there it was an uphill battle for Big Daddy who squeaked out a win, prevailing by 57-56 on the referee’s card.

Paul Gallen

A standout rugby player, Paul Gallen was one of Australia’s most well-known sports personalities when he made his debut as a professional boxer in 2014. In using the rugby pitch as a passageway to the squared circle, he was following a well-trod path.

Tony and Anthony Mundine, father and son, were rugby players before turning to boxing. Tony Mundine compiled an 80-15-1 record and challenged Carlos Monzon for the world middleweight title. Anthony Mundine, who turns 46 next month and is still active, out-did his old man in both sports. Before turning to boxing, he was Australia’s highest-paid rugby player. He would go on to become a two-time WBA 168-pound world title-holder, etching his name in Australian boxing lore as the second aboriginal Australian to win a world title following in the footsteps of 1960’s-era bantamweight stalwart Lionel Rose.

Former rugby player Kali Meehan came ever-so-close to winning a piece of the world heavyweight title, losing a razor-thin and unpopular decision to Lamon Brewster in 2014. Kali’s son Willis Meehan is an active pro rugby player who currently sports an 11-0 (9 KOs) record as a pro boxer.

Willis Meehan is a former teammate of Sonny Bill Williams. A New Zealander, Williams also juggled both sports, manufacturing a 7-0 record as a boxer highlighted by a 10-round decision over ancient Frans Botha in 2013. He hasn’t fought in almost six years, but last month he announced his retirement from the Sydney Roosters while expressing a keen interest in getting back in the prize ring. At age 35, he has very little mileage on him and the best may be yet to come.

Paul Gallen, who retired from rugby in 2019 after a record-tying 18 seasons, also has very few miles on his odometer. He was 10-0-1 (5) heading in to his bout with Lucas Browne, but hadn’t defeated anyone of note. In fact, nine of his 11 former opponents had two pro fights or fewer and four of the nine were making their pro debut. Moreover, Gallen, who stands 5’10 ½” was at a distinct physical disadvantage. Browne, who stands 6’5”, outweighed him by 33 pounds.

Browne vs. Gallen played out in a 5,000-seat arena in Woollongong, NSW. Scheduled for six rounds, it was one of eight fights on the card.

With many of his old teammates cheering him on, Gallen came out blazing. He dropped Big Daddy early with a hard left hand and dropped him again with a barrage of punches before the referee intervened. A jaw-dropping upset, the bout lasted less than two minutes.

For Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne, once so esteemed by his countrymen, disapprobation was swift. “Browne took the sport for a ride with his useless performance,” said Sydney sports journalist Tyson Otto. Others were more charitable while insisting that Browne, who turned 42 this month, ought never be allowed to fight again. “His resilience is gone. When a fighter is shot, a fighter is shot,” said former Australian super featherweight champion turned TV boxing analyst Barry Michael.

By all accounts, Big Daddy doesn’t intend to quit. He purportedly had reached an agreement in principle to fight Justis Huni next. The 22-year-old Huni (3-0, 3 KOs) won the Australian heavyweight title in his pro debut and is penciled in as Australia’s representative in the super heavyweight division in the forthcoming (hopefully) Tokyo Olympics.

Late bloomer Lucas Browne, a former dance club bouncer who dabbled in MMA and kickboxing before finding his way to the sweet science, made many friends with his affable personality. Hopefully he will heed his friends’ admonition that it’s time for him to hang up his gloves. As for Paul Gallen, his next bout may come against the aforementioned Sonny Bill Williams.

Gallen vs. Williams wouldn’t create much of a buzz in most of the boxing universe, but it would be a very big event in the Antipodes.

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE