Sonny Bill Williams vs Paul Gallen LIVE: Round-by-round updates and reaction from Australia’s most hotly anticipated footy fight night

Some fighters get small swelling patches called mice when they get cracked, but the Kiwi was sporting something more like a cricket ball over his right eye when it was stopped.

The ref asked Charalampous if he wanted to keep going, he said yes – but his corner could see he was a big chance of getting hurt and called it off.

Danny Green is hailing that decision from the Kiwi’s seconds as Charalampous is the type of fighter who’d keep going until he was ground into hamburger.

The swelling on Charalampous is pretty severe, but thankfully it’s above the eye and isn’t interfering with his sight.

And the ref brings him over to the doctor, who examines him as Charalampous pleads, ‘Give me one more round.’ He gets his wish.

That has spurred him on and he is really loading up with his punches. Then he headbutts Nyika and gets warned by the ref.

Some mean, mean left hooks from Charalampous, but they’re missing. He throws a combo to the body, lands an uppercut.

Nyika soaks it up and starts ripping to the body and you’d hear those shots 20 rows back.

A great left rip drops Charalampous, who’s up at the count of five.

He responds with two absolute bombs, then Nyika gets a warning about low blows before landing a nice right to the jaw.

Nyika has outlanded his man by almost two to one, but there’s not a lot of power behind those shots. He’s kicked off the fourth with a crisp jab.

Charalampous’s face is badly swollen above his right eye, which is usually the result of a clash of heads. He has slowed down again – and gets his head rocked back by a right hand.

Good counter jab by Charalampous but he needs to up his output. He explodes out of the corner and backs Nyika up with a flurry, but nothing does much damage.

Nice left hook in the clinch from Charalampous, then a left rip. He gets off the ropes with power.

Best round for Charalampous but it’s still 10-9 to Nyika.

Danny Green wants Nyika to try the jab, right, left hook, then a right to the body, promising it’s there whenever he wants it.

Charalampous lands a nice uppercut/left hook combo, which also worked in the previous round. His best punches of the fight.

The difference in conditioning already looks to be having an effect. Charalampous has never been stopped but he’s already starting to look a little ragged with his punches.

A right lands for Nyika, who is pouring it on late in the round.

Charalampous misses with a lead right and Nyika finishes it in a southpaw stance.

Nyika has taken over the middle of the ring and is getting through with the jab more often, but he took a couple of uppercuts and a left hook when he got in close.

A brief switch to southpaw by Nyika, who isn’t loading up on his punches much but is by far the sharper of the two men.

10-9 to Nyika, but that was a closer round.

That’s quite the walkout song for Charalampous, who chose Monty Python’s ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ for his entrance.

Nyika looks to be in far better condition than his rival, but appearances can be deceptive.

He gets the jab going early, throwing in the odd right hand and moving well, giving Charalampous the middle of the ring.

A heavy uppercut from Charalampous misses and he’s keen on closing the distance and not giving up much ground.

The ref warns both men about clashing heads and not being clean in the clinches, then Nyika backs his man up into the corner and goes to the body with a sharp right.

Good jab from Nyika to finish this one off.

Nyika was knocked out in the fourth round by Jai Opetaia in his last fight, and there’s no shame in that – Jai is one of the best boxers on the planet right now.

His opponent, fellow Kiwi Charalampous, boasts a 23-6-2 record and blasted Nyika as an ‘overrated pretty boy’ after he lasted 10 rounds with Opetaia.

Rahim just explained that his long break from the ring was down to him getting injured when he played footy.

He’d been training with his grandfather, Aussie boxing legend Tony Mundine, who guided Anthony through his pro career.

Southpaws are often difficult for orthodox fighters like Mundine, but he had no problems whatsoever.

And Mundine has just said he’d love to face Danny Green’s son Archie – who is yet to fight and is several years younger than Rahim – if their careers take off over the next five years.

Danny is on the commentary panel and has just called Choc a ‘pelican’ for saying he won all their fights.

Archie has joined him and revealed he definitely wants to have a fight before the end of the year. He also agreed with the five-year timeframe.

The right hook did the damage with both knockdowns, with the first coming on the end of a three-punch combination.

Anthony isn’t celebrating much but he must be super proud with that effort. Obviously a long road for Rahim to travel but he looked unruffled, relaxed and decisive in there – a great combination for a novice pro.

Choc was telling his son to keep moving his head after he throws during the break.

Nice counter jab for Mundine in the first 15 seconds after evading an uppercut.

A left hook stuns Vatusaqata but he recovers. He’s not asking many questions of his opponent.

Mundine slips three big punches, including another uppercut. He has a clear edge in speed on offence and defence.

And the Fijian is down from a lightning combination. He’s back up at the count of eight but gets dropped with a heavy right hook almost immediately.

Both fighters are canny in the feeling-out period, with more than a minute of the round gone before a good punch lands – a left hook to Mundine.

Rahim looks relaxed and sharp and looks a lot like his dad in there.

Another punch to Mundine, a looping right to the jaw that momentarily stuns the Fijian.

Now Rahim loads up with three good jabs and is starting to look a class above here.

Choc’s old foe Danny Green in commentary is measuring Mundine up for a possible fight with his son Archie.

Mark Hunt knocked Sonny Bill out and lost a points decision to Gallen, so he’s uniquely placed to judge who’ll come out on top tonight.

He believes both men are on the same level when it comes to boxing.

‘It depends on if Sonny Bill knows how to use his advantages. He’s got the height and the reach, but he doesn’t know how to use it; he’s pretty raw in that sense,’ Hunt said.

‘If Sonny Bill uses his length and the advantages that he does have, it will be an easy night for him. If he doesn’t, he will lose the fight.’

Pressed for an answer, Hunt went with Gallen as the winner because he has more ‘fighting dog’ in him than the former All Blacks, Bulldogs and Roosters star.

Rahim Mundine is up against Joe Vatusaqata in a super middleweight bout. Choc’s son has won his only pro bout so far, a unanimous decision over Lepani Levatia last December.

Alex Leapai Jr has knocked out Herve Silu Mata in the first round in what’s probably his most impressive performance to date.

The son of the former heavyweight world title challenger came out hard from the bell, throwing combinations and going to the body.

He got through with a stiff right hand that had Mata in all sorts and the ref waved it off after he crashed to the canvas.

Leapai remains undefeated.

Thanks for joining Daily Mail Australia for the most hotly anticipated footy fight night Australia has seen for years.

Sonny Bill and Gal have built up a fiery rivalry by slinging some astonishing insults at each other in the lead-up – and now they get to see if they can back it up in the ring.