Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n
Nelson Asofa-Solomona chortles when you bring up the haymakers he infamously threw outside the La Favela nightclub in Bali.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy left shoulder has not been the same ever since,\u201d Asofa-Solomona said.<\/p>\n
For most sports fans, this is the only vision they have ever seen of Melbourne\u2019s big bopper throwing hands. The scene was a popular nightspot in the Balinese beachside suburb of Seminyak, after witnessing an unprovoked attack on his mate and then Storm teammate Suliasi Vunivalu.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just one of those things, you get a bit of alcohol in you and you\u2019re just swinging from the rafters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is, it is what it is, obviously that situation. With the punches, I don\u2019t think one of them landed, to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d do that for anyone I travel with. You travel together, you look after each other. Obviously, emotions were involved and it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Nelson Asofa-Solomona ahead of his fight at the Battle on the Reef.<\/span><\/p>\n So, can we expect something similar, when \u201cNAS\u201d – all 200 centimetres and 130kg of him – makes his boxing debut against fellow footballer Jarrod Wallace at the Battle on the Reef in Townsville on Saturday night?<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you see in that vision, it\u2019s gonna be far from what you see on Saturday,\u201d Asofa-Solomona said.<\/p>\n Nelson Asofa-Solomona\u2019s clash with Wallace is part of a busy fight card, available live and exclusive on Stan Pay-Per-View this Saturday night from 6.30pm (AEDT). The giant prop promises to bring precision to go with power to honour his late father, Vasa, who introduced him to the sport as a 12-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad got me into boxing and my dad passed away in 2021,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2018I love boxing, I\u2019m passionate about it. It makes me feel alive.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHe did a bit of boxing back in Samoa, he got me into it and I just want to keep his spirit alive by honouring what he got me into.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would be proud of this, it\u2019s not an easy path. My dad will be looking down, and he\u2019ll be very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n The early boxing sessions didn\u2019t last long, however. After a month of tutelage in a Wellington gym, Asofa-Solomona\u2019s trainer felt he was ready to face his son. The sparring session – and any subsequent workouts – ended after the newbie blooded his opponent\u2019s nose.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a quick career,\u201d Asofa-Solomona quipped.<\/p>\n There was plenty of talk at the Battle on the Reef press conference on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n This could be a second coming. Paul Gallen\u2019s retirement, coupled with the winding down of the boxing career of Sonny Bill Williams, will leave a void.<\/p>\n Asofa-Solomona, possessing a personality as big as his frame, is ready to fill it.<\/p>\n \u201cPlenty of boys here [on the card] can take that role and I believe I can take that role as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty confident in my skills and I believe in myself and that\u2019s what you have to do to get to the top level.<\/p>\n \u201cI love boxing, I\u2019m passionate about it. It makes me feel alive, we\u2019re all chasing that high and I believe I can try to make a career out of this after footy.\u201d<\/p>\n Any nerves ahead of his debut?<\/p>\n \u201cThe first time you jump into the ring, the first time you do anything, it\u2019s always a bit nerve-wracking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou build it up in your head, and sometimes it might not be exactly what you think it is. The fantasy might be better than what it is in reality.<\/p>\n \u201cI respect the sport, I\u2019ve done the time, and you\u2019re gonna see what I\u2019ve worked on.\u201d<\/p>\n Wallace, the man who will be standing in front of \u201cBig Nelson\u201d, is unperturbed about taking on the NRL\u2019s biggest man.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just further for him to fall down,\u201d Wallace said.<\/p>\n \u201cI know he\u2019s going to throw hard punches but at the end of the day my fitness will outdo him. I don\u2019t think any of his punches are going to worry me. I got headbutted on Monday by Ben Hannant, so if I can take a headbutt from the \u2018Polar Bear\u2019, I can take a punch from Nelson.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the other headlines, Tevita Pangai jnr, who will face Frank Amato in his first fight since quitting rugby league, took aim at his critics.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just here to prove all my doubters wrong, all my haters wrong,\u201d Pangai Junior said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re all trying to tell me what to do. All the people in the media are trying to tell me what to do. I do what I want to do.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m my own boss. That\u2019s why I left. I\u2019m sick of taking orders off halfbacks and coaches. I do what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Battle on the Reef fight card<\/h3>\n
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