In over four decades of following Australian boxing, I’ve never witnessed a match as mortifying, chaotic, and utterly uncomfortable as the dismal showdown between George Burgess and Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
This is not to discredit George’s performance on Wednesday evening.
Displaying admirable courage, he continued to throw punches despite suffering a tear in his left pectoral muscle during the first round and enduring substantial blows that left him clearly dazed.
This clash of rugby league’s tough men took place just before the eagerly anticipated world title match between Australian contender Liam Paro and Northern Ireland’s Lewis Crocker, a bout of such remarkable caliber that it drew the attention of boxing aficionados worldwide.
Remarkably, the event was even covered through a live blog by the BBC.
Pictured: Action from George Burgess’s loss to fellow footy hard man Nelson Asofa-Solomona (right) as both men missed with the sort of wild shots you see from novices
Burgess was incredibly brave but also wildly out of his depth against an opponent whose right hand goes off like a grenade
The cringe factor kicked in before the opening bell had even sounded as both fighters staged the sort of elaborate ring walks you’d associate with world champions, with Burgess being sung to the ring by star musician Conrad Sewell (pictured)
Any overseas fight aficionados who tuned in, oblivious to the sort of stoushes that have been passing as headline bouts in Australia for the last few years, would have been utterly dismayed by what they saw at Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena.
The cringe element kicked in fiercely before either man had even thrown a punch.
Burgess – who had never fought professionally before – staged a walkout that gave new meaning to the term ‘over the top’.
He took an age to make his way to the ring as musician Conrad Sewell sang him out to the hit tune Firestone, with the ex-Souths star holding his arms aloft like a world champion and high-fiving the crowd.
‘NAS’ followed with a guitarist performing the riff from Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer for what seemed like an age before the towering footy star emerged in dramatic fashion as soon as the song kicked into its famous chorus.
If you didn’t know who these blokes are – like everyone watching overseas – you would’ve assumed they were fighting for the Australian heavyweight title.
When the bell sounded to start round one, it was almost instantly obvious that Burgess was dangerously out of his depth.
No balance, no idea how to throw his punches, keeping his head still and held up high, taking his eyes off the man trying to knock him out – he made all the mistakes you’d expect of an absolute novice in their first sparring session.
Pictured: A moment from the bout that could be used to teach up-and-coming boxers exactly what they shouldn’t do when they’re fighting
After taking shots like this right hand, Burgess turned his back on NAS on more than one occasion, looking out into the crowd in scenes that should have worried fight fans
Pictured: Asofa-Solomona celebrates after Burgess’s team threw in the towel during the third round
But this was a million miles away from practising in the gym with headgear on against a well-matched opponent.
Asofa-Solomona has very little boxing nous himself, but he does have three pro fights and much more training under his belt, not to mention a right hand that could dent steel plate.
Before the bout I was worried that Burgess, who came into the ring looking out of shape and had refused to reveal any footage of his training, could get seriously hurt.
Those worries grew with every second he was in the ring.
The 34-year-old ate some massive punches and responded by lashing out wildly, throwing himself off balance so badly he almost fell over without being hit, and looking for all the world like he’d been recruited for the fight in the car park outside the arena five minutes before the bell sounded.
The fact Asofa-Solomona didn’t knock him out in the first round should be a big worry for him and his team. You will probably never see a fighter who’s easier to hit than Burgess was.
The shambles kept going after the bell to end the first round, as Burgess wobbled back to his corner, only to find his seconds had forgotten to put the stool out for him – one of the most basic jobs they have, especially when their man is almost out on his feet.
Things got far worse from there.
Burgess actually managed to tag his man with some right hands, but he was getting absolutely punished and often appeared not to know where he was.
On more than one occasion, when the ref stepped in to break up a clinch, the Englishman turned his back on ‘NAS’ and was looking out into the crowd.
The ref had to direct him back to the action in scenes that would be very worrying for experienced fight fans.
When a boxer turns their back on an opponent, it’s either regarded as a foul for illegally trying to avoid contact – which was not the case on Wednesday night – or a sign that the fighter is so outmatched or badly hurt that they don’t want to continue.
Burgess wasn’t asked if he wanted to stop.
I was yelling for the fight to be ended before his courage backfired on him and he got seriously hurt.
The towel came in far too late, in my opinion. And when it did, there was another bizarre scene as Asofa-Solomona picked it up and wiped blood off his opponent’s face before the cornermen could get to him.
Burgess wasn’t even stopped by a punch. Nelson just leaned his 140kg bulk on him until he sank to the canvas, looking totally spent, eyes wide and unable to focus.
Now put yourself in an overseas fight fan’s shoes again.
You’ve just seen one of the headline fights on a huge card, and it looked for all the world like two blokes throwing haymakers outside a pub after necking a few too many beers on a Saturday night.
Burgess fought on despite tearing his left pectoral muscle in the first round. Nobody could question his courage, but his technique was non-existent
The NRL stars’ fight came immediately before Liam Paro (left) won a world title against Northern Ireland’s Lewis Crocker – meaning fight fans across the world had eyes on Wednesday night’s card
You’d be excused for asking, ‘What the hell is going on down there?’
It’s the biggest black eye for Aussie boxing in my memory.
Tim Tszyu, who was on the panel commentating on the fight, called it ‘tough as hell to watch’, which was a giant understatement.
I get why footy stars keep getting paid to punch each other on proper boxing cards.
Years from now, I reckon you’ll find promising Aussie fighters who got into the game because of the big coverage bouts like this generated.
The sport is in a battle with the UFC when it comes to attracting viewers and money, and Dana White and his team have shown up boxing in a big way by pitting champion against champion, with one world title for each weight division instead of the muddled alphabet of belts boxers can win.
So by all means, if footy stars want to throw leather at each other, keep putting them in the spotlight.
But for crying out loud, don’t make them one of the headline acts on a card like this.
Don’t hype them up like they’re the second coming of Mike Tyson.
And please, don’t put them in the ring if they can’t box worth a lick.
