AFL greats Dane Swan and Brendan Fevola have joined the all-star cast of footy players ready to square up in the boxing ring for All Stars Boxing – Footy Fight Night.
The event was originally supposed to take place at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, on Wednesday, August 3, but has since been postponed.
The prime-time, pay-per-view viewing will also be broadcast live on Kayo and Main Event.
North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey has accepted an invitation to put his speed to the test in a bout between footy flyweights, following his induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Harvey will swap fists of fury with former St Kilda forward pocket Stephen Milne, who mastered one of the AFL’s trickiest positions during a colourful career with the Saints.
A Prince of the Pockets, Milne will need to be punching at his most precise in his bout with Harvey, a Kangaroo who retains plenty of bounce in his legs, when they meet in the All Stars Boxing – Footy Fight Night.
The AFL stars join Brownlow Medallists Swan and Adam Cooney and feisty forwards Fevola and Cam Mooney on a thrilling card of boxing, with more bouts to be confirmed.
Left to right: Stephen Milne and Brent Harvey
“Boomer” Harvey, who set the record for the AFL games played at 432 during a 21-season career with North Melbourne, remains fighting fit.
The 1999 AFL premiership Kangaroo and former North Melbourne captain has kept in shape, acting as a runner for the club this season, and he thinks his fitness will be to his advantage in the ring.
Harvey said: “Fitness is my strength. But I might attack the body, as Milney looked a bit out of shape.”
“I’ve got to do a lot of sparring and hit the bags, but the bags don’t hit back, so I need to jump in the ring and get hit a few times and take a few knocks along the way.”
A four-time All Australian, Harvey, now 44, defied his height (168cm) and weight (72kg) to carve out an extraordinary career at Arden Street and retained his blistering speed through to his retirement.
Milne enters the bout with Harvey with physical advantages. At 42, he is two years younger. He also weighed in heavier (83kg) in his prime and has a significant reach advantage, being eight centimetres taller than Harvey at 176cm.
A dual All Australian, Milne was phenomenally consistent in the forward line throughout a 275-game career in which he kicked 574 goals. He continued to perform at a high standard in amateur ranks until his retirement from football just four years ago.
“He is a bit smaller than me, but I have a bit of a reach over him,” Milne said. “I’ll try to keep him off me a little.”
Left to right: Stephen Milne and Brent Harvey
Harvey is looking forward to matching fists with Milne in the ring. He said: “Boxing has always interested me. You see Anthony Mundine go from rugby to boxing, and you see other sportsmen try different codes and challenge themselves. I’ve done plenty of things to challenge myself, like half marathons but I’ve never jumped in the ring and done boxing.
“I’ve always liked boxing, so I think the challenge of the training is number one. Number two is getting in the ring and seeing how I go. I want to have some fun, but I want to be serious about it at the same time. I can’t wait.”
Milne is mindful of his rival’s durability but feels suited to the fast-paced Fight Night format where the footy players will box three two-minute rounds.
“I’ve got to try and land as many punches as I can when he is tired,” Milne said. “We have different levels of fitness. Boomer can run till the cows come home, but once you get in the ring it is obviously different, so I need to work out a few different strategies once that will benefit me.”