NRL bad boy Matt Lodge calls out Nelson Asofa-Solomona for boxing showdown
The hunt for an opponent to face towering ex-NRL star Nelson Asofa-Solomona may be over after an NRL bad boy threw down the gauntlet for an off-season showdown.
The biggest concern around Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s switch from rugby league to boxing was finding the 201cm tall front rower an opponent.
But it appears the ex-Melbourne Storm wrecking ball won’t have to look too far for a dance partner, with rugby league bad boy Matt Lodge immediately calling him out.
Asofa-Solomona signed a lucrative three-year deal with No Limit last week after turning his back on a decade-long rugby league career.
He will make his promotional debut on the undercard to Nikita Tszyu’s grudge match with Michael Zerafa in Brisbane on January 16, and is on the hunt for a relatively late-notice opponent.
It’s unlikely to be one of the bigger names in heavyweight boxing in Australia, but Lodge – who has two professional fights on his record – is angling for a shot at ‘Big Nasty’.
The 30-year-old has just signed a one year deal with the North Queensland Cowboys, and wants to focus on rugby league for now, but hopes to lock in a fight with Asofa-Solomona next off-season.
“Obviously I’ve moved to the Cowboys to focus on my footy,” Lodge told Code Sports. “I’ll do my best here but if I pull up healthy at the end of the year, I’d definitely fight.
“He’s quit footy, but footy is still my priority, so it would need to be in the off season.
“I’ve played against him, he’s a very big man.”
Lodge went pro in November 2024, scoring a bloody second round knockout win over Alexander Ale.
He followed that up with another second round stoppage victory over Jonasa Kavika in March this year before his NRL season got underway.
Asofa-Solomona has stepped into the ring once, scoring a devastating TKO victory over fellow NRL front rower Jarrod Wallace in 2023.
The former Kiwis Test forward says he hasn’t completely shut the door on playing footy again, but is fully focused on his fighting career, training out of Team Ellis gym in Melbourne.
And Lodge, whose rugby league career was nearly ended a decade ago when he was arrested after a drunken late-night home invasion in New York, is adamant on fighting Asofa-Solomona sooner or later.
“I’d love to get in the ring with Goliath,” he said.
“He can do his boxing and I’ll concentrate on my footy, and hopefully big Georgie Rose can get it on in the off-season.
“I’m sure it would be a good watch.”
No stranger to off-field incidents after protecting teammate Suliasi Vunivali during a melee in Bali in 2019, Asofa-Solmona says his switch to boxing comes after rugby league became “a chore”.
“You can’t get sent off in boxing either,” he joked.
Asofa-Solmona has also been linked to an eventual fight with former NRL bad boy Curtis Scott.
Scott has a 4-0 boxing record including wins over Joey Leilua, former AFL enforcer Barry Hall and All Blacks World Cup winner Liam Messam.
He most recently fought in a Bare Knuckle Boxing event in the Gold Coast in September and is understood to be considering making a run at the heavyweight world title.
Other potential opponents for Asofa-Solomona include Paul Gallen, Junior Paulo, Sonny Bill Williams and Zac Lomax.
Originally published as NRL bad boy Matt Lodge calls out Nelson Asofa-Solomona for boxing showdown
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