Plenty have tried, but how many succeeded?
It’s getting to the point that you’re not truly an NRL player unless you box in the off-season. At least, that’s how it seems.
The emergence of the Rose brothers’ No Limit Boxing has accelerated the trend in recent years. Both former NRL prop George and brother Matt were both very handy on the footy field and now they’re making a real fist of this latest venture. Pun intended.
But it’s an age-old tendency going back to the 1940s. Rugby league’s unearthed some very average boxers over the years, but also some good ones.
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After the re-match between Paul Gallen and Justin Hodges on Wednesday night, let’s take stock and assess which players can throw them as well as they can catch and pass.
Anthony Mundine… Justin Hodges… Paul Gallen… Garth Wood… Ben Hannant… who’s in our corner?
Here are Rugby league’s best ten boxing converts.
10. Joe Williams (12 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses)
Growing up in the Eastern Suburbs, Joe Williams emerged at the South Sydney Rabbitohs as a 20-year-old. The halfback went on to play 49 NRL games, mostly at Souths, before transitioning to boxing after calling time on rugby league in 2008.
Williams won three different World Boxing Foundation titles, the biggest in 2014; winning by majority decision after 12 rounds with Ty Gilchrist for the World Boxing Foundation World Light belt.
He’s since become an ambassador for mental health and suicide prevention, admitting his own on-going mental health issues is his toughest opponent.
9. Garth Wood (12-1-4)
Following in the footsteps of his father, Garth Wood played 25 games in the NRL across five years. Always on the fringes, he decided to go down the path of professional boxing.
Wood earned an opportunity against Anthony Mundine for $250,00 after outlasting 13 other competitors on The Contender Australia, a boxing reality television show. He produced one of the biggest upsets in Australian boxing history, sending Mundine to the canvas with a left hook to the chin in the fifth round; a knock-out win.
After losing the rematch to Mundine by unanimous decision, Wood would go on to compete in four more fights but never hit the same success.
8. Billy Johnstone (21-6)
Unlike the other players on this list, Billy Johnstone started as a boxer before transitioning into a rugby league player, playing in the NRL. He lost his debut at the young age of 15, took three years away, but then won 13 fights in a row over a two-year period. This included competing in two bouts on the same day, two separate times.
His biggest victory came in 1980, beating Dave Edwards for the Queensland State Middleweight title. His sporadic career ultimately never quite lived up to the hype. He went on to play eight years in the NRL, appearing in over 160 games for the Bulldogs, Dragons and the newly formed Gold Coast Giants.
7. Monty Betham Jr (8 wins, 1 loss)
The former New Zealand Warriors captain and dual international with Samoa and New Zealand was born into a boxing family, quitting footy in his prime to pursue a career in the ring. Betham’s father Monty Sr (43-10) was a former Commonwealth Middleweight boxing champion; fighting the likes of Tony Mundine.
Betham earned two titles during his career, eight years apart; beating Vai Toevai by KO for the vacant Samoa Cruiserweight title and brutally taking the NZNBF Cruiserweight title off James Langston eight years later. The former two-time champion now runs a boxing gym in New Zealand.
6. John Hopoate (12 wins, 7 losses)
A controversial character who became the most suspended player of the modern era was destined to take up boxing after 200 games in the NRL.
He began his boxing career with three knock-outs in his first three fights, none of them lasting longer than 58 seconds. Continuing his dominance, he got the opportunity to challenge for the Australian Heavyweight Championship against Bob Mirovic, a former sparring partner of Mike Tyson and protege of Jeff Fenech. Hopoate claimed a famous win in a nine-round epic; Jeff Fenech throwing the towel in after a barrage from the former Manly and Tigers winger.
5. Paul Gallen (15-1-2)
The most prolific NRL player on this list, Paul Gallen played exactly 350 career games in the NRL for the Cronulla Sharks. During this period, he represented Australia 32 times and New South Wales on 24 occasions. Despite representing his country, Gallen’s biggest honour came in 2016, captaining the Sharks to a drought-breaking NRL premiership.
Boxing started as a hobby, debuting against Herman Ene-Purcell in 2014. He then ticked off fights against former NRL players Anthony Watts, Junior Paulo and John Hopoate. Despite never collecting a title, his big wins came in 2020, defeating former UFC fighter Mark Hunt and Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne in consecutive fights.
He fell short against Justis Huni (TKO), showing ridiculous resilience against a superior opponent, and Kris Terzievski (unanimous decision). After just defeating Justin Hodges, Gallen has decided to retire at 41.
4. Sonny Bill Williams (9 wins, 1 loss)
An NRL and rugby union player, Sonny Bill Williams extended his athletic sporting ability to the boxing ring in 2009. A dual New Zealand international in both league and union, he is a two-time NRL premiership winner and two-time Rugby World Cup winner; regularly boxing in the off-season.
He won the vacant NZPBA Heavyweight title against Clarence Tillman. However, due to prior commitments and injuries, he was stripped of the title for not accepting challengers. A year later, he took on Francois Botha, an opponent of both Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in the 90s, for the vacant WBA International Heavyweight title. SBW won by unanimous decision.
The win streak only very recently ended; by TKO at the hands of UFC brawler Mark Hunt. The weight difference proved too much for Sonny Bill. He is yet to comment on whether or not it will be his last boxing match.
3. Herb Narvo (20 wins, 7 losses)
Named as one of Australia’s 100 Greatest Rugby League Players in 2007 and an NRL Hall of Fame inductee, Herb Narvo paved the rugby league-to-boxing crossover. After 10 years of rugby league that included rep games for the Blues and Kangaroos, Narvo laced up the gloves in 1942. The Newcastle native continued to do both for the next four years, retiring in 1946.
Narvo won the Australian Heavyweight Championship from Billy Britt, taking just 23 seconds. This win became the shortest Australian title fight in history. He would hold onto the title for two years, before losing it to Jack Johnson.
2. Solomon Haumono (24 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses)
One of the most famous boxing converts from the NRL, Solomon Haumono was known on the field for his aggressiveness, tenacity and power. Playing 111 games in the NRL over a 10-year span, Haumono achieved representative honours for New South Wales, Australia and Tonga.
Following in the footsteps of his father Maile, Haumono decided to take up a career in 2000, an unbeaten eight-fight stint before returning to footy for the 2003 season. Then he returned to the ring in 2007, his streak finally ending at fight 18 in 2009 against Justin Whitehead.
Just like his father, Haumono became the Australian Heavyweight Champion in 2012; a ten round thriller against Franklin Egobi that ended via TKO with mere seconds left in the bout. The last major victory came in 2016, claiming the WBA Oceania Heavyweight title by beating Manuel Alberto Pucheta.
1. Anthony Mundine (48 wins, 11 losses)
The most prolific and successful boxer to come out of the NRL is ‘The Man’ Anthony Mundine. The son of boxing legend Tony Mundine began his boxing career in 2000, after eight years in the NRL. He played 134 games, mainly for the Dragons, at one point becoming the highest-paid player in the NRL. Mundine achieved representative honours, playing Origin for the New South Wales Blues three times.
As a boxer, he forged many great rivalries; particularly with Danny Green and Daniel Geale. Mundine was the first person to defeat the Real Deal inside the ring; winning by split decision. He later on also beat Geale for the IBF World Middleweight title.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Mundine-Green feud was enormous at the time; with a genuine dislike for each other at play. They finally crossed paths under lights in 2006, in a huge pay-per-view; the Man winning by unanimous decision. The rematch ten years later in Adelaide was also a big occasion for Australian boxing; Green tasted revenge in a controversial blue.
Mundine claimed 12 titles throughout his career with the most renowned being the IBO Middleweight title and WBA Super-Middleweight title. After three consecutive losses over the course of four years, Mundine lost his edge and decided to retire at the beginning of 2021. This came after unsuccessfully winning the vacant WBA Oceania Middleweight title.
