South Sydney Rabbitohs premiership winner George Burgess has been accused by his boxing opponent Nelson Asofa-Solomona of smelling of alcohol at two previous face-offs ahead of their bout on Wednesday night.
Asofa-Solomona, a Kiwi fighter and former Melbourne Storm star, said Burgess stunk of booze the first time they came face to face, immediately after Asofa-Solomona fought Jeremy Latimore. He said the same thing happened after his second fight, against Jarrod Wallace.
The 30-year-old former NRL star is also understood to have accused Burgess of smelling of cigarettes at a previous meeting. Asofa-Solomona said that during Magic Round in Brisbane, it was something else again that he could smell.
Burgess, 34, will make his professional boxing debut against Asofa-Solomona on Wednesday night. He stepped away from rugby league in 2022 while playing for St George Illawarra amid a serious hip injury and some troubling personal issues.
Overpass rescue in Brisbane
Asofa-Solomona's comments surfaced just days before Burgess's professional debut, and just before his role in stopping a man from jumping off an overpass in Brisbane on Monday morning was revealed.
The man is believed to have stepped over a guard rail near Brisbane's Central Station before Burgess and media personality Tim Ashworth rushed to the scene. After first trying to talk him down, the pair physically grabbed him, and Burgess offered to take him for a coffee before police and emergency services arrived.
Burgess told Fox Sports that Tim got to the guy first and started speaking with him, and that he got there second and asked what his name was, trying to get him out of his head a little bit. He said Tim had been holding the man alone and couldn't manage by himself, but once Burgess got hold of him, he wasn't letting go, and together they pulled him over the railings.
Asofa-Solomona has knockout victories under his belt heading into Wednesday's fight.
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