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Quade Cooper knows he’s got a bigger target on his head than most professional boxers.
The Wallabies and Queensland Reds star has his third professional fight on the undercard of Friday night’s bout between Anthony Mundine and Danny Green.
» Fight report: Green defeats Mundine
» Every fight result from the night
» WATCH: Mundine vs Green 2 highlights
» WATCH: Cooper vs McInnes highlights
Cooper, who won his initial two fights, faces Jack McInnes, a brawler with 55 professional fights in Muay Thai kickboxing and cage boxing, and two losses as a pro boxer.
“All of the guys who are athletes and sportsmen who have basically had the courage to step in the ring, there’s a massive target on us,” Cooper said on Thursday.
“Because we’re already athletes and we’re already professionals in a different field, people just expect us to be world champions overnight.
“But it’s a long process and something I have a lot of respect for everybody who has been able to step in the ring and have the opportunity to be a boxer.”
Cooper said his fight in Adelaide came with the blessing of the Queensland Reds, despite the possibility of a preseason injury to the playmaker returning from an ill-fated year with French glamour club Toulon and Australia’s rugby sevens program.
“It’s great to have the support of our coach and the club as well to be able to do something like this,” he said.
“Very rarely would a sportsman get the opportunity to chase something else that they enjoy as well, especially in the lead-up to the season.
“So I’m grateful for the support there and hopefully I can continue to do it more often.”
Cooper, whose last pro fight was in January 2014, said he would continue juggling boxing with rugby – but for how long remained unknown.
“It’s difficult but it’s a challenge that I enjoy,” he said.
“If I didn’t enjoy doing it, I wouldn’t put myself through the immense training, the physical effort, because sometimes after footy training you feel a bit flat and you don’t really want to do more physical work.
“But because I enjoy it so much, I find the energy.
“I haven’t looked too far ahead … when the enjoyment factor leaves, then you have got to look at where you are as an athlete and what the future holds.”
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