BRISBANE, Australia – Nelson Asofa-Solomon wants to cut all players from the NRL “and go from there” after an explosive professional boxing debut against former rugby league journeyman Jeremy Latimore.
The huge Asofa-Solomon knocked out Latimore with a powerful uppercut just two minutes and 22 seconds into the first round of Friday night’s heavyweight bout in Brisbane.
Disappointed that Melbourne have lost their last two major final defeats due to suspension, the two-time premiership-winning Storm turned down a reported $800,000-a-season contract with the Parramatta Eels – one of Latimore’s five former clubs – to try his hand at the ring instead.
“You can’t get kicked out of the dugout,” he famously said after announcing his defection from the NRL in November.
The fight on the undercard of Nikita Tszyu’s hit with Michael Zerafa, the so-called “Large Nasty”, was an instant hit – even if he himself was not impressed.
Latimore (39) gave up 10 years and 22kg to Asofa-Solomon’s 133kg weight, with the former Eels, Auckland Warriors, St George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers and Cronulla Sharks icons all failing to last one round.
“Yes, I feel great, but honestly, I’m not joyful with the performance,” Asofa-Solomona said.
“I’m not joyful with the way I held my posture and stuff like that, I was a bit loose.
“But I just want to praise this man [Latimore] right here. Many people would not dare to jump into such a ring.
“So we can just give him a massive round of applause to please everyone. It takes a lot of balls to get in.”
Retired former South Sydney Rabbitohs enforcer George Burgess has already called up Asofa-Solomona, saying he is fit and prepared to face the Recent Zealand Test star.
“I want to sort out the whole NRL division and then we’ll start from there,” Asofa-Solomon said when asked who his next target was.
“Any NRL player can get it.”
Without ruling out a return to the league, 29-year-old Asofa-Solomon has signed a multi-year contract with No Limit Boxing and intends to hone his skills before making any major decisions regarding his future in any sport.
“This [his boxing debut] it was a little crazy, but look, I’ll just go back to the drawing board and try to perfect everything in my game,” he said.
“Man, what a journey. We know we have bigger and better things ahead and (I’m) really excited about the future.”
Asked who his next target was, Asofa-Solomon replied: “Any NRL player can get it.”
“I want to get the whole NRL division sorted out and then we can get started.”
Here’s how fight night went at the Brisbane Entertainment Center: