Nelson Asofa-Solomona delivered the knockout he promised against Paul Gallen.
But his biggest boxing win came with an ugly sideshow.
The former Melbourne Storm enforcer stopped Gallen in round one of their Sydney showdown on Friday night, bringing the Australian sporting veteran’s farewell fight to a brutal end.
Yet Big Nasty’s performance was overshadowed by an shocking altercation with someone in the crowd immediately afterwards.
After celebrating on the ring ropes, Asofa-Solomona leaped out of the ring and lunged at a spectator in the crowd.
He seemed to throw a punch at the man, but luckily did not connect.
NAS apologised for it immediately afterwards.
“I want to apologise for what I did,” Asofa-Solomona said.
“I should not behave like that.”
The commentary team was as stunned by those watching at home.
“For Nelson to run into the crowd was a disgrace, and he’s got to control himself because in the future that just can’t happen ever again,” said Peter Badel.
“Thank God he didn’t land,” said Dan Ginnane.
“Maybe he wasn’t trying to land it, just getting the bloke to flinch.
“But he can’t be doing that.
“He can’t be running into the crowd.
“And the frightening thing, Mick, when he jumps over the ropes, no one can stop him.
“There’s not a security guard in the world that’s going to stop him once he’s on the rampage like that, that was like WWE.
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No Limit boss George Rose also wasn’t pleased.
“Yeah, look, you know, one thing that we love to do with our shows is that we love to make it a safe and enjoyable and entertaining experience for everybody involved…
“We want to make sure it’s something people can be a part of and feel safe.”
Inside the ropes, Asofa-Solomona backed up his confidence with the biggest scalp of his boxing career.
The finish came after landing a right hand during the opening round. He followed it up with a series of uppercuts that left Gallen unconscious on the canvas.
Fortunately Gallen recovered afterwards and left the ring on his feet.
For Gallen, it was a punishing conclusion to a comeback that had offered the chance to add another unlikely victory to his remarkable sporting story.
The former Cronulla captain had insisted throughout the build-up that Asofa-Solomona’s previous opponents had failed to properly test him.
Ultimately, however, Gallen could not find the answer to the heavyweight who had promised to make him regret returning to the ring.
Asofa-Solomona had spoken before the bout about potentially pursuing the Australian heavyweight title.
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After the fight, NAS called out British boxer Tommy Fury.
“Big Nasty is here to stay,” he said.
“And if we can make this next fight work I would love it.
“Tommy Fury, over in the UK.”