Nelson Asofa-Solomona confirms boxing switch, set to fight on January 16 in Brisbane

Nelson Asofa-Solomona is taking his talents to boxing. Photo / Photosport

Kiwis rugby league star Nelson Asofa-Solomona will make his return to the boxing ring next month after announcing plans to pursue a career in the sport.

The 29-year-old has taken up a nine-fight contract with Australian promotion company No Limit Boxing, with his first fight scheduled for January 16 in Brisbane against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Last month, Asofa-Solomona walked away from his NRL contract at the Melbourne Storm despite having two years left to run on the deal.

He was linked with R360 and confirmed he had fielded an approach from the rebel league, while the Parramatta Eels and Warriors had reportedly shown an interest in the New Zealand international.

Asofa-Solomona is refusing to shut the door completely on a return to rugby league, but did double down on his feelings that he had fallen out of love with the sport.

He described it as “feeling like a chore”, citing missing the last two NRL grand finals through suspension as a factor for losing interest, but recently starting training at a boxing gym had reignited a fire in his belly.

“You can’t get sent off in boxing,” Asofa-Solomona said. “I think it played a bit of a role but there are a lot of other contributing factors as well.

“I’ll never say never to football. It’s all I’ve ever known, but right now I want to put all my energy into boxing. It’s something that I just right now really enjoy.

“I just want to put people on highlight reels, just add people to their highlights on YouTube... I think ultimately I’d regret it if I didn’t give it a shot. So I’m here to test myself, here to take a risk and ultimately not to look back and regret.”

Asofa-Solomona, who was one of the biggest players in the NRL at 2m tall and weighing 115kg, ends his career with 215 appearances with the Melbourne Storm, winning premierships in 2017 and 2020, and making 16 test appearances for New Zealand.

The Wellingtonian showed plenty of boxing potential in his early foray into the ring. In 2023, Asofa-Solomona fought Jarrod Wallace, knocking out the former Dolphins prop in a three-round heavyweight fight.

No Limit chief executive George Rose said Asofa-Solomona has the tools to excel in boxing.

“There’ll be people that’ll be absolutely s*** scared of going anywhere near him because of the size of him, because of the power, because of the athletic ability of him,” Rose said.

“But there are going to be people out there who want to make a name for themselves. Somebody wants to be the first person to hit Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the mouth.

“He’s got very limited experience coming into this, but that’s what’s exciting too, not knowing what he’s going to bring and not knowing just how good he could be.”

Asofa-Solomona didn’t want to get too carried away about what he could achieve inside the ring.

“I done a bit of boxing when I was 12,” Asofa-Solomona said.

“That’s where it all started and had my first fight in 2023. And I thought I was going to finish there. I didn’t think I was going to have another fight but just found the love back again.

“You’ve got to aim high and who knows where this can go. God’s given me a massive body and strong mentality.”

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.