Boxer and former NRL player Anthony Watts, due to fight Paul Gallen next month, reflects on his rocky road Former NRL player Anthony Watts in training for his fight against NRL superstar Paul Gallen. IF Anthony Watts is knocked cold by the opening punch of his fight against Paul Gallen, he will cling to this consoling thought. There are worse places to be, like sitting in brutal solitude in a sterile prison cell wearing a hot pink jumpsuit. He knows well the numbing, silent shame of it. The memories are as clear and as chastening as they should be given he is just 15 weeks out of a nine-month jail sentence including a three-month term when he was isolated for 22 hours a day. Watts, a former Cowboys, Sharks and Roosters utility who forged a reputation as a sparky bench player, is attempting to rebuild his shattered sporting career as a boxer. He will fight NSW rugby league captain Gallen on the undercard of next month's Daniel Geale-Jarrod Fletcher showdown in Sydney. Watts was jailed for offences including breaking a domestic violence order, driving while disqualified and failing to complete community service and the 22 hours a day he spent in isolation initially muddled then strengthened his mind. Anthony Watts training for his fight with Paul Gallen. It does mess with your mind at the start but you become stronger. You worry about everything, family, friends, what people are thinking of you,"" said Watts, whose bad behaviour record is longer than Andrew Bogut's pyjama pants. Jail is not a good place. You learn a lot when you get in there. To shut your mouth, keep your head down, focus on rehab. I am big enough and ugly enough to look after myself but the experience makes you want to be a better person."" Watts, the former Mongols and Finks bikie, has cut links with both gangs but under new legislation designed to humiliate bikies, was ordered to wear a pink jumpsuit in prison. As low as he has been he knows it could have been worse, like the day he was supposed to meet Wayne Bennett about a future contract and briefly met his maker instead. "I have died once,"" he said. I was clinically dead on the table. I had an drug overdose. I tried to neck myself. I spent two weeks in intensive care. I had to learn how to walk again."" The incident came after Watts had an argument with his brother at his father's funeral and ended up in custody. "I woke up the next day and thought "what am I doing?" I did what I thought I had to do. The hospital said they can't believe I am still here, so I have been given a pretty big chance. I would not say I was trying to commit suicide. It was more attention seeking. I had lost everything in my life, or at least I thought I had but actually I still had a great family and partner. Anthony Watts (left) and Paul Gallen promote their upcoming fight. "I just felt sorry for myself and was missing the attention I was getting when I was playing football."" Regrets? He has a few and is happy enough to mention them. "I regret drinking,"" he said. If I had my time again I would not drink. I have a big ego, and I regret signing for the Roosters. I signed a three-year deal to play on the bench and I regret that every day. "If I did it again I would look after my family and my money a bit better."" Sport is full of inspiring redemption stories but no matter what he achieves in boxing, a fairytale finish to his sporting career is likely to be beyond his reach. He accepts he had a chance and muffed it but is keen to salvage something from his potential. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. It could be worse. I am not battling cancer. I have battled depression and anxiety. Who hasn't? I was very weak-minded when I played football but now I am stronger than ever. I have nothing to lose. This is a new career path for me. I am going to give it everything.""