Former Melbourne Storm star Nelson Asofa-Solomona reportedly turned down a $700,000 a season offer from the Parramatta Eels before mak...
Former Melbourne Storm star Nelson Asofa-Solomona reportedly turned down a $700,000 a season offer from the Parramatta Eels before making a major career switch to boxing. And the 29-year-old - who was also linked with a mega-money move to R360 - revealed ahead of his first professional bout in January that he'd "fallen out of love" with rugby league and needed a fresh challenge.
The two-time premiership winner has signed a multi-year deal with former league star star George Rose's No Limit Boxing. And the tallest player in NRL history is set to fight on the undercard of the Nikita Tszyu-Michael Zerafa grudge match on the Gold Coast on January 16.
Asofa-Solomona parted ways with Melbourne in October after the Storm agreed to release the enforcer from the final two years of his contract. The towering forward's two premierships were part of a glittering but chequered career marred by ill-discipline, with Asofa-Solomona missing the Storm's 2024 and 2025 grand final losses due to suspension.
And on Thursday, the 29-year-old joked that his fiery temperament will be better suited to the boxing ring, after expressing his excitement about the career switch. "You can't get sent off in boxing, which is good, so that's a start," he told AAP.
It is understood Asofa-Solomona was offered $700,000 a season to join the Eels and was also heavily linked to rebel rugby competition R360 - which was ultimately delayed until 2028. But the 215-game Storm man mountain decided to go on a completely different career path after losing his passion for footy.
"I've fallen out of love for the game of rugby league and now I've fallen in love with the boxing game," he added. "That's why I'm here today. I'm here to test myself, here to take a risk."
The 201cm enforcer admitted the sin-binnings and heartbreaking grand final bans played a part in his decision to swap the footy field for the boxing ring. And No Limit Boxing boss Rose reckons the fight game is ideally suited to his latest recruit's talents.
No Limit boss talks up Nelson Asofa-Solomona's switch
"You step into a boxing ring, we love reckless high shots. We love careless high shots," Rose said. "You're not going to get fined. You're not going to get three weeks (off). You're not getting one week. You're getting patted on the back.
"I'm not saying rugby league's gone soft, but it's changing to the point where it's not suiting a person like Nelson, that when you're that big, when you're that strong, and your best tools are smashing people. It's being taken out of the game.
"You're losing your best tools here. We want you to use the best tools. We want you to knock people out. We want you to use your size, use your strength, use your power and be devastating in the ring. You're not allowed to do that on the field. In boxing, you are."
"With Nelson, it's an interesting one because there will be people that will 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's going to be people out there who want to make a name for himself.
"Somebody wants to be the first person to hit Nelson in the mouth. So there will be people lined up and we've got no doubt that we'll find a great opponent for him, not only for that fight but for all fights going forward."
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