Tevita Pangai Jnr boxing switch: First fight details revealed for former Bulldog star

A week after stunning the NRL world with a sudden retirement, Bulldogs star Tevita Pangai Jnr is set to take his first giant steps towards becoming a boxing sensation.

Tevita Pangai Jr is set to announce his first fight since quitting rugby league. Picture: Getty

Tevita Pangai Jnr’s life after football has begun.

This masthead can reveal Pangai Jnr will officially launch his boxing career on Thursday when he is unveiled as a headline act on a fight night in Townsville involving some of the NRL’s biggest stars.

Pangai Jnr rocked the Bulldogs last week with his shock decision to quit rugby league at season’s end and focus on making it big as a professional boxer.

Now the former Broncos powerhouse is taking his first step forward, with Pangai Jnr to feature on an all-star card in north Queensland including NRL heavyweights Junior Paulo and Nelson Asofa-Solomona.

It is understood Tevita’s younger brother, Jermaine, has also inked a deal to appear on the show in a double dose of Pangai power.

Pangai Jnr’s opponent has yet to be finalised but his official unveiling in boxing will happen on Saturday, October 7 – six days after the NRL grand final – at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

Tevita Pangai Jr is set to announce his first fight since quitting rugby league. Picture: Getty

The boxing bonanza will see Australia’s rising star Paulo Aokuso take to the ring in the main event in his bid to be the nation’s next pay-per-view star after Tim Tszyu.

But all eyes will be on Pangai Jnr, who is unbeaten in his first two fights, hammering Gerico Cecil in his debut in December 2021 before finishing Jerry Tupai in a second-round knockout last year in Sydney.

Pangai Jnr wants to win belts in his new sport and his trainer, former Australian super lightweight champion Chris McCullen, has no doubt ‘TPJ’ can succeed in boxing.

“There is no doubt in my mind he can win an Australian heavyweight title,” McCullen said.

“It’s up to Tevita, but he has this dedication that is different to anything I have seen.

“He has a love and passion for the sport that is really genuine.

“He is determined to really learn the craft. He isn’t taking the piss out of the sport because of his profile, he wants to take it seriously and go in against actual fighters and take on fighters who will test him.

Pangai Jnr knocked out Jeremiah Tupai-Ui in one of his previous fights. Picture: Getty

“Obviously, he’s not ready yet for guys like Justis Huni and Joe Goodall, but there’s a lot of Australian heavyweights he can beat.

“He has the ability and intellect to be able to adapt. If I give Tevita an instruction, he will return the next day and fix it. It’s amazing how hard he works at it.

“He has the power to knock people out and he definitely has the size to be a credible heavyweight.”

Pangai Jnr stunned the rugby league world when he announced his retirement. Picture: Getty

Pangai Jnr’s commitment to rugby league has been questioned but McCullen says the Tongan torpedo is giving 100 per cent to being a fully-fledged boxer.

“Tevita lives and breathes boxing. He keeps his wife up at night because he shadow boxes in the mirror at home working on his technique,” McCullen said.

“I was talking to Andrew Moloney (one of Australia’s best professional boxers) and he didn’t know Tevita was an NRL player. He thought he was a seasoned fighter and that’s coming from a former gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games and a former world champion.

“The world is at his feet in boxing and one thing I do know is he is giving himself every possibility.

“He has really improved in the gym and in our last prep, he trained like a man possessed.

“We want to get some fights under his belt over the coming months.”

Originally published as Tevita Pangai Jnr boxing switch: First fight details revealed for former Bulldog star