Nelson Asofa-Solomona has outlined his bold plans of beating Paul Gallen before taking his heavyweight knockout show to Las Vegas, where he wants to step in the ring with a retired NFL great.
Less than a week out from his heavyweight showdown with Gallen in Sydney, ‘Big Nasty’ brushes off the former Sharks captain’s retirement threats, instead calling out Super Bowl winners Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski.
The former Melbourne Storm prop holds a 3-0 record, with three knockouts, and is eyeing up a bout to coincide with the NRL’s season launch in Sin City next year.
A loss this Friday would all but spell the end of Asofa-Solomona’s boxing career though, with a clause in his contract allowing promoter No Limit to cut ties with him in case of a defeat.
“That’s the reality of my boxing career,” Asofa-Solomona told this masthead.
“And it’s a sad reality for a lot of people who don’t have options.
“But like I’ve said before, the more pressure on me the better.
“I’ll rise to the occasion, like I did in my footy career.”
Asofa-Solomona emphatically shut down a return to rugby league, despite Gallen taunting him that he’ll be forced to reach out to the Perth Bears if his boxing career ends.
“I don’t have a manager for football, so I don’t even know if anyone’s interested,” he said. “And quite frankly, I don’t care to be honest, because I’m retired.
“I’ve retired from the NRL.”
Instead, he is intent on making the Gallen fight this Friday the stepping stone towards even bigger and better things.
Step one could be a fight in Vegas on NRL weekend, with his old team, the Storm, making its debut in 2027.
“I wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to go to Vegas,” he said. “First I’d have to sit down with my team to evaluate it.
“I’m pretty sure we can find a retired NFL player for me though – Marshawn Lynch or maybe Rob Gronkowski.
“I’m sure there’s a few names over there that people want to see punch on.”
One thing is for sure though: Gallen will be the last ex-NRL player Asofa-Solomona fights.
“I’m pretty keen to move on after this one, so Gallen will be my last NRL fight,” he said. “I’m keen to move on to the so-called ‘real’ boxers.
“Paul Gallen holds the heavyweight crossover title at the moment, so I’d love to take that from him this weekend.”
Then, he wants to do something Gallen could never achieve: win the Australian heavyweight belt.
Gallen fought for the title twice, losing to Justis Huni and Kris Terzievski, and ‘Big Nasty’ is adamant he can go one step further.
“I’m on the road to the Australian title,” he said. “I understand that’s a very long road, and it’s going to be tough.
“But it’s important to have dreams, and to dream big.
“That’s the route my coaches want to go down, and that’s where I’ll be heading after this fight.
“Gallen had those two losses, and I’ll never knock him for trying. It’s a hard feat to pull off, but it’s something I’m going to try to do – dare to be great.”