Asofa-solomona Vs Burgess Boxing Set For June 24 In Brisbane

Nelson Asofa-Solomona and George Burgess have set asofa-solomona vs burgess boxing for June 24 at Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena. The heavyweight bout lands on the undercard of Liam Paro’s fight with Lewis Crocker, turning a long-running grudge into a date and a venue.

Pat Rafter Arena

Asofa-Solomona said he had not forgotten what happened after his first professional win in January. Burgess confronted him after that victory over Jeremy Latimore, and Asofa-Solomona said he was trying to celebrate with his family and his people when Burgess jumped in.

“I remember exactly what happened after my first fight,” he said. “I’d just had my first professional win, and was trying to celebrate with my family and my people.” He added: “But George decided that was the moment to jump in, start carrying on and try to make the whole thing about himself.”

January And April

The feud did not stop there. In April, Asofa-Solomona stopped Jarrod Wallace, and Burgess was ringside again with plenty to say. Asofa-Solomona said, “I took that personally,” and later described Burgess as someone who had been questioning him for months and acting like he was “some sort of fake.”

The build-up has also carried a physical cost outside the ring. Asofa-Solomona walked away from an $800,000-a-year Storm contract to fight, while Burgess has moved into an acting career after rugby league. Their crossover meeting now gives the rivalry a fixed date after months of callouts, confrontations ringside and one contentious delay.

Brisbane Card

The bout sits inside a larger Brisbane card, which gives it a wider audience than a straight rugby league grudge match. Paul Gallen was the previous crossover benchmark, and this fight is being placed in that same lane as two former NRL forwards settle it in boxing.

Asofa-Solomona said the ring changes the terms completely: “But once the bell rings... this isn’t a footy field and this isn’t Hollywood. There’s nowhere to hide in there and no one is coming to save you.” For readers following the crossover angle, the only thing left to wait for is how the same bad blood plays when they are finally inside the ropes.