Aussie boxing promoter George Rose has hinted that George Burgess could take on Nelson Asofa-Solomona next after the former NRL enforcer’s stunning professional debut on Friday night. Asofa-Solomonam stopped former NRL journeyman Jeremy Latimore with a vicious first round KO after fighting on the undercard of the Nikita Tszyu-Michael Zerafa bout which ended in a controversial no contest.
Asofa-Solomonam lived up to his “Big Nasty” nickname after a savage uppercut on Latimore ended the bout just two minutes and 22 seconds into the first round. It was an emphatic statement from the towering former Melbourne forward, who walked out on the Storm after last season to pursue a career in boxing.
George Burgess (centre) is keen to become Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s (L) next opponent after the former NRL star’s savage KO win in his pro boxing debut. Pic: Getty/Main Event
And the two-time premiership winner was quick to put the NRL world on notice after the fight, declaring he was ready to take on any current or former players. “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.”
Former Rabbitohs prop Burgess was among those watching from the crowd in Brisbane after telling SEN radio before the bout that Nelson should “pick on someone his own size”. Not surprisingly, the pair came face-to-face in heated scenes after the bout, before No Limit boss Rose revealed that Burgess was interested in becoming Asofa-Solomona’s next opponent.
George Burgess ‘keen’ to fight Nelson Asofa-Solomona
“I saw George in the crowd and he said he’s keen, he wants it,” George Rose told Fox Sports. “And he is a very big human. But when you see what Nelson just did, I wouldn’t be so quick to jump in the ring with him.
“But I’d love to make it happen. We’ll go through the negotiations with a few people are see where we land.” NRL great Paul Gallen was also part of the crowd in Brisbane, but whether he’d want to step into the ring against the 133kg, 200cm giant remains to be seen.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona (R) landed a brutal uppercut on Jeremy Latimore (L) to win his pro boxing debut in a first-round KO. Pic: Getty
(Chris Hyde via Getty Images)Former NRL enforcer begins boxing career with a bang
“When it came it was brutal, a one-punch highlight reel from Nelson in his professional debut. He was never a chance of getting up, try as you might,” Main Event’s Ben Damon said after the fight. American boxing great Shawn Porter added: “It’s a punch that you don’t see coming, Latimore never saw that coming”.
Asofa-Solomona had a 22kg and 10-year age advantage over the 39-year-old Latimore and it showed in a brutally one-sided contest. But the former Storm star was not entirely satisfied with his professional boxing debut after admitting he still has a lot to learn in the ring.
“Yeah, it feels great but I’m not happy with the performance, to be honest,” he 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.”
with AAP