NRL centre Joey Leilua has warned Chris Heighington that he’s “in trouble” when the two meet in the boxing ring next month.
“I’m going to go out there and box … I don’t know about Chris Heighington, but I know he’s a good footy player,” Leilua said at a press conference today.
“He’s a tough guy but all I know is Chris Heighington boxing? He’s in trouble.”
On the first night of a December double header, Heighington and Leilua will square up in another all footy player bout – before Paul Gallen and Josh Aloiai headline night two.
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“I’ve always liked challenging myself,” Heighington said.
“It’s going to be a test. He’s younger, bigger, but I’ll be ready on the night.”
The dual premiership winner said sparring as a youngster helped him build his rugby league career and a professional ring appereance was something he always coveted.
“Joey’s a good footy player, he’s a powerful guy so I’m going to have to be on my game,” Heighington said.
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Leilua, who is still on the hunt for a new club in 2022, gave a frank admission on how the fight came about.
“Do you want to know the real answer? I just got a text saying ‘do you want to fight?’ and I said ‘Yeah I’ll take the fight’,” he said as the crowd laughed.
The former Dally M Centre of the Year said he’d been training six days a week and that it had been harder than rugby league.
“It’s been tough … consistently working your whole body every single day.”