BRISBANE, Australia — Nelson Asofa-Solomona wants to take out all-comers from the NRL “and go from there” after making an explosive professional boxing debut against ex-rugby league journeyman Jeremy Latimore.
The super-sized Asofa-Solomona knocked out Latimore with a massive uppercut just two minutes, 22 seconds into the first round of Friday night’s heavyweight stoush in Brisbane.
Disillusioned after missing Melbourne’s past two grand final losses because of suspension, the two-time Storm premiership winner turned down a reported $800,000-a-season deal with Parramatta Eels — one of Latimore’s five former clubs — to have a crack in the ring instead.
“You can’t get sent off in boxing,” he famously said after announcing his NRL defection in November.
Fighting on the undercard to Nikita Tszyu’s blockbuster with Michael Zerafa, the so-called “Big Nasty” proved an instant hit — even if he was not impressed himself.
Latimore, 39, was giving away 10 years and 22kg to the 133kg Asofa-Solomona — and the former Eels, Auckland Warriors, St George Illawarra Dragons, Penrith Panthers and Cronulla Sharks cult figure could not last one round.
“Yeah, it feels great, but I’m not happy with the performance, to be honest,” Asofa-Solomona said.
“I’m not happy with the way I was holding my stance and stuff like that. I was a bit loose.
“But I just want to say credit to this man [Latimore] right here. A lot of people wouldn’t dare to jump in this ring.
“So can we just give him a round of applause please everyone. Takes a lot of balls to get in.”
Retired former South Sydney Rabbitohs enforcer George Burgess has already called out Asofa-Solomona, saying he was fit and primed to take on the New Zealand Test star.
“I want to clean up the whole NRL division and then we go from there,” Asofa-Solomona said when asked who his next target was.
“Any NRL player can get it.”
Not ruling out a return to league, the Asofa-Solomona, 29, has signed a multi-year deal with No Limit Boxing and is intent on honing his skills before making any big calls on his future in either sport. “It [his boxing debut] was a bit wild but, look, I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and just try and perfect everything in my game,” he said. “Man, what a journey. We know we’ve got bigger and better things to come and (I’m) really excited for the future.” Asked who his next target was, Asofa-Solomona said: “Any NRL player can get it”. “I want to clean up the whole NRL division and then we can go from there.” Here’s how fight night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre unfolded:
