George Burgess is accused of smelling of booze by boxing opponent Nelson Asofa-Solomona days before Burgess makes his professional boxing debut. The claims surface as Burgess has been revealed for helping stop a man from jumping off an overpass in Brisbane nea
George Burgess’s professional boxing debut is just days away, but the build-up has been dragged into something uglier than fight-week nerves.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona says he smelled alcohol when he faced Burgess twice in the lead-up to Wednesday night’s bout. The former Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs premiership winner, now 34, is accused of “stink[ing] of booze” in those encounters.
Asofa-Solomona described his first face-to-face moment with Burgess after Asofa-Solomona’s fight against Jeremy Latimore. “First time I faced off with him, immediately after I fought Jeremy Latimore, he stunk of booze,” he said on Monday.
He then pointed to a second meeting, after his fight against Jarrod Wallace. “And it was the same after my second fight against Jarrod Wallace, when he stunk of booze again.”
The allegations didn’t stop there. Asofa-Solomona is also understood to have accused Burgess of smelling of cigarettes during a previous meeting. He added that during Magic Round in Brisbane, the experience was different again—something he said he could smell on that occasion too.
For Burgess, the timing is striking. His boxing debut comes after a long rugby league journey that ended in 2022. when he stepped away while playing for St George Illawarra amid a serious hip injury and “some troubling personal issues.” Even so. his pro debut has drawn anticipation. and it’s not just about whether he wins on Wednesday night.
On Monday morning, Burgess helped stop a man from jumping off an overpass in Brisbane. The man is believed to have stepped over a guard rail near Brisbane’s Central Station. Burgess and media personality Tim Ashworth rushed to the scene.
Asofa-Solomona’s comments landed in the public space just as the focus was shifting to what Burgess did before police and emergency services arrived.
Burgess said he tried to intervene verbally at first. “Tim got to the guy first and started speaking with him. I got there second and asked what his name was, tried to get him out of his head a little bit,” Burgess told Fox Sports.
He described how Ashworth initially tried to hold the man by himself, and how he stepped in physically. “Tim was [there first] holding him and couldn’t get him by himself. And then once I got there and got hold of him, I wasn’t letting go … then we pulled him over the railings.”
The contrast—between fight-week accusations and an act that helped bring a person back from a ledge—gives Wednesday night an extra edge, even before the first bell.
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George Burgess Nelson Asofa-Solomona boxing debut South Sydney Rabbitohs St George Illawarra Brisbane Central Station Tim Ashworth Magic Round Jeremy Latimore Jarrod Wallace