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Carl Webb intends to let his fists rather than his mouth do the talking on Monday when he becomes the latest in a growing band of rugby league players to have a professional boxing fight.
The North Queensland, Queensland and Australian Test star will fight unheralded Sydneysider Scott Lewis on the undercard of the Anthony Mundine-Robert Medley bout at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.
The powerful 28-year-old forward hasn’t ruled out having further fights, though he is concentrating on his upcoming league commitments to the Cowboys.
He believes his fledgling boxing career has the support of his Cowboys team-mates even if he has received something of a ribbing about it from his colleagues.
Webb weighed in at 108.3kg, while Lewis, who has an undistinguished 1-3 professional record with all of his losses coming inside the distance, weighed in at 103.5kg.
“I see all the trash talking and that, but I’ve never been big on that sort of thing,” Webb said on the Nine Network news.
“Especially when you go out there, there’s every chance that you are going to get knocked out.”
Webb will join an expanding list of league players who have had at least one professional fight.
Mundine has been the most successful of all of them, winning world title belts at middleweight and super middleweight.
In more recent times, John Hopoate and Solomon Haumono also made the switch.
Hopoate has also enjoyed some success, winning an Australian heavyweight title, though his future is in doubt after losing two of his last three bouts.
Haumono started his professional boxing career with 15 wins and was unbeaten in his first 17 fights, notching 15 knockouts.
However, he lost his unbeaten record in August of last year.
Former Cronulla and St George Illawarra forward Lance Thompson compiled a 2-1 record, while former New Zealand Test star and current rugby union player Sonny Bill Williams triumphed in his only professional contest to date.
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