Quade Cooper believes his controversial boxing debut will make him a mentally tougher rugby player.
Cooper struggled under the immense World Cup pressure in New Zealand 14 months ago, but he feels the challenging preparation for his February 8 bout has helped take his mental powers to a new level.
The Wallabies and Queensland Reds playmaker has no doubt he'll come out of his fight against Barry Dunnett a much improved player - physically and mentally.
"Mentally, boxing makes you a whole lot stronger and some of the training things I've had to go through are things I never thought possible and I've pushed my body to whole new limits.
"So I'm very excited about the rugby season and the fight just around the corner."
While many Reds fans are disappointed to see Cooper missing Queensland's second and final pre-season trial against the Super rugby champion Chiefs to take on seasoned fighter Dunnett, the 24-year-old has indicated it won't be his last bout.
He will box on the undercard to good friend Sonny Bill Williams' heavyweight bout against South African Francois Botha at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
