Former Melbourne Storm enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona has confirmed he is turning his back on rugby league to “pave his own way” in professional boxing, signing a multi-year deal with Australian promoters No Limit.
Asofa-Solomona had been linked with a potential switch to either the English Super League or R360 but has instead commited to give boxing a crack.
Sensationally, his first professional bout is set to come on the Nikita Tszyu vs Michael Zerafa card on January 16.
“I’ve thrown myself a bit into the unknown, taken a risk. Sometimes I think ‘what the hell am I doing?’,” he said to foxsports.com.au.
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“But I think you have to be in that mindset sometimes where you feel a little (nervous). As I said, what’s life without risk?”
The hulking 201cm beast has previously fought fellow NRL enforcer Jarrod Wallace, but is currently without an opponent on the Tszyu vs Zerafa undercard.
He came away with a third round TKO in Townsville, and despite securing a win, Asofa-Solomona believed that would be his last time stepping into the ring.
“I thought that was going to be my only fight, I didn’t think too much of it,” he said.
“I didn’t think I was going to fight again but it’s something that I enjoy. I woke up in the morning and boxing was the second or third thing on my mind.
“That’s what I base it off, I base it off what gets me out of bed.”
Rugby league and boxing have consistently crossed over, with the likes of Paul Gallen and Anthony Mudine forging impressive careers with the gloves after hanging up the boots.
But, Asofa-Solomona’s main focus is to carve out his own path.
“I want to pave my own way,” he said.
“I really respect what, Paul Gallen, Sonny Bill Williams, Anthony Mundine have done in their careers and it’s cool because it’s given me a bit of a blueprint and inspiration.
“But I just want to pave my own way.”
No Limit CEO George Rose said the company was hunting an opponent for the New Zealand international — who he believed could reach scary heights in the world of boxing.
“I don’t know if people will be putting their hand up for this one,” Rose said at Thursday’s announcement.
“That card just got bigger … it just got six-foot-7 bigger.
“… I think he’s going to be great. There’s nothing holding him back when he gets in the ring.
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“We want him to be big, we want him to be devastating. We want him to showcase that power he’s got. And when you’re big in the heavyweight division, size matters.”
As for his own ambitions, Asofa-Solomona confirmed he harboured ambitions to reach the peak of Australian heavyweight boxing, and then take on the world.
“It’d be silly not to think like that, there’s a lot of hard work in front of me,” he said.
“I’m keen just to pin the ears back.”
Asofa-Solomona spent a decade with the Storm but fell out of favour this season with the 29-year-old admitted it was time for a change.
One of the biggest changes he will face of going from a team environment to an individual camp, with only his coaches and sparring partners around him.
“I actually rather it in a way, because as a boxer, (here I am) acting like I have had 10 fights,” he said.
“Or as a guy who is coming into this professional fight, it’s just on you. No one is going to keep you accountable but yourself.
“There’s someone on the other end trying to knock you out, I don’t want to end up on someone else’s highlight reel.”
Asofa-Solomona’s aggression and hulking frame consistently saw him sidelined in the NRL, having missed Melbourne’s last two grand finals due to suspensions.
That aggression will almost certainly prove to be an asset in boxing and it’s hard to think of another athlete with more natural-born power than Asofa-Solomona.
However, while he already possesses the knockout blows, Asofa-Solomona is committed to being more than a “pub” fighter.
“Yeah, I just love the sweet science. There’s the brutality of the sport but there’s also the sweet science of setting up a shot,” he explained.
“I don’t want it to be that, I don’t want it to be all grunt and like a pub fight. I want to give the respect to boxing and really focus on the real basics.
“Hopefully I can show that on Jan 16.”
In learning the art of boxing, he has been studying the likes of “Lennox Lewis, Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko”.
But overall, this was a new chapter for a man who had multiple NRL offers and a chance to play rugby union.
“It’s a great opportunity. It’s no secret I’ve fallen out of love with the game of rugby league, for now, but I’ve fallen in love with the boxing game,” Asofa-Solomona said.
“I’m here to test myself. I’m here to take a risk… ultimately I would regret it if I didn’t give it a shot.”