By Canadian Press

Melbourne Storm hard man challenges Wolfpack forward Darcy Lussick to a fight

Apr 22, 2020 | 2:23 PM

Melbourne Storm prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona has challenged Toronto Wolfpack forward Darcy Lussick to put up his dukes.

Lussick won his heavyweight pro boxing debut in December when he knocked out former rugby league star Justin Hodges in 39 seconds in Sydney, Australia.

Asofa-Solomona, a man-mountain considered one of rugby league’s hard men, wants to be next, issuing his challenge via an Instagram.

“When you fight a retired back…,” he wrote, referencing Hodges who played fullback and centre.

“Darcy Lussick if you want a real fight, I’d happily jab your face off for easy money.”

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Lussick signalled he was ready in comments posted on the YKTR Sports Instagram page.

“I’m Nelson’s daddy,” he said in one post 

“I’ll slap his trainer too for free,” he added. 

Both Asofa-Solomona and Lussick are human wrecking balls on the pitch.

The 24-year-old Asofa-Solomona is a New Zealander whose nickname is Big Nasty. While he has not fought professionally, the six-foot-six 253-pounder is no stranger to throwing punches.

Last October, he was banned for three matches over his involvement in a brawl outside a club in Bali that has been met with criticism by past and present players.  Asofa-Solomona said he was defending a teammate who had been attacked.

Promoter Matt Rose told Australian media that negotiations were at an early stage to hold the bout after the NRL season, due to restart May 28 after a suspension of play due to the global pandemic.

The 30-year-old Lussick, currently on hiatus in England with the Wolfpack, stands six foot four and weighs 251 pounds. He spent seven seasons in the NRL from 2011 to 2017 with the Manly Sea Eagles and Parramatta Eels prior to joining the transatlantic Toronto side.

The Wolfpack are no strangers to the sweet science.

Coach Brian McDermott started boxing in the Royal Marines, representing the Royal Navy.

McDermott won his lone pro fight in 1995 before focusing on a rugby league career that saw him play for England and Great Britain. He returned to the ring in March 2016 to spar with former Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Henry Wharton for charity.

Toronto star Sonny Bill Williams, who left rugby union and the All Blacks to join the Wolfpack, went 7-0-0 as a boxer between 2009 and ’15, claiming the New Zealand and WBA international titles.

Williams told his introductory news conference in London that he has always included in his contracts a clause allowing him to box.

Williams said he took up boxing because he needed money after buying out his NRL contract with the Bulldogs in 2008 to play rugby union in France. He said he was one million Australian dollars ($896,00) in debt at the time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2020.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press