He wants to be the heavyweight champion of the world. At 115kg and 2m, who says Nelson can’t?

Rugby league star turned boxer Nelson Asofa-Solomona is backing his former NRL team the Melbourne Storm to defy the doomsayers as he prepares to launch his career in the ring.

For the first time in memory, the Storm appear vulnerable after the recent departures of Asofa-Solomona, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Jonah Pezet, parlayed into the horrific concussion that is set to sideline Eliesa Katoa for at least the 2026 season.

They must also deal with the heartache of losing consecutive grand finals to Penrith in 2024 and Brisbane last season. Not since South Sydney in 1925 has a team been beaten in successive deciders before bouncing back to claim the title.

Asofa-Solomona admits the Storm are in a position “they haven’t experienced before” but predicted his former teammates would rise to the challenge.

“I’m sure they’ll get written off, but I think the Storm do their best work when their backs are against the wall,” he said. “I think they’ll still do really well. It’s a great club, they work really hard, and people who work hard get lucky.”

One of Asofa-Solomona’s last memories of his 11-year, 215-game stint with Melbourne was a team meeting before players dispersed for their off-season break.

“Some powerful stuff was said in that room from a few players, but especially Josh King,” Asofa-Solomona said. “People can write them off, but I know those guys and they’re not done yet.”

In explaining his decision to request a release from his lucrative contract with Melbourne, Asofa-Solomona said he had “fallen out of love with rugby league” and was finding it a “chore” to attend training sessions.

After negotiating with R360 officials - an option that he may re-explore if the rebel rugby union competition becomes a reality - he has instead signed a three-year deal with No Limit Boxing to fight nine times.

The 29-year-old’s first fight will be on the undercard of the Nikita Tszyu-Michael Zerafa bout in Brisbane on January 16, against an opponent still to be confirmed.

Promoter George Rose predicted it would not be easy to find a rival to step into the ring with the 2.01-metre, 115-kilogram behemoth.

“There’ll be people that’ll be absolutely shit-scared of going anywhere near him, because of the size of him, because of the power, because of the athletic ability of him, but there’s going to be people out there who want to make a name for themselves,” Rose said.

The 16-Test Kiwi international knocked out former Queensland Origin prop Jarrod Wallace in a 2023 exhibition fight and said he hopes to follow the path blazed by the likes of Anthony Mundine, Paul Gallen and Sonny-Bill Williams by switching from the 13-man code to the ring.

“Those guys have given me a bit of inspiration and a bit of a blueprint of what can come of this,” he said.

His ultimate goal is to establish himself as a heavyweight world champion.

“I think you’ve got to aim high,” he said. “Who knows where this can go?

“God’s given me a massive body, a strong mentality - I never want to give up - but yeah, I guess we’ll find out.”

There’ll be people that’ll be absolutely shit-scared of going anywhere near him.

GEORGE ROSE

Asofa-Solomona has not ruled out joining R360 at some point if it gets going.

“It was something that I was interested in, and I still am,” he said.

“But there’s been a bit of a delay. My mindset going into 2026 was to have a break anyway and just re-evaluate what I wanted to do. It was either have a break or boxing.”

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