‘Those guys are weapons, I wasn’t’: Former Nathan Cleary ‘bodyguard’ to fight for Aussie title

Somewhere between running off Nathan Cleary and knocking out nine men cold, the enforcer was asked to do what no one else would.

Or at least no one in his footy team.

“It was a corporate fight night,” recounts Tonga Tongotongo, that wonderfully-named Sydney boxer who, later tonight, and on the biggest of stages, looks to turn a string of brutal KOs into the Australian light heavyweight title.

Thurman vs Jarvis | WED 12 MARCH 7PM AEDT | Australia’s Brock Jarvis will take on former Welterweight World Champion Keith Thurman in a blockbuster event at the Hordern Pavillion. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.

Which you should know, isn’t how it was always tipped to go.

No, back a few years in his early teens, ‘Triple T’ was something of a rugby league Next Big Thing.

A hyped Sydney schoolboy who, apart from starring with St Dominics College – and in a backline boasting some older kid named Cleary – was also rising up through the Penrith Panthers system with others like Brian To’o, Jarome Luai and Liam Martin.

So as for how close the young centre came to joining Cleary’s mob now chasing a fifth straight NRL title?

“Oh, nah, those guys are weapons,” Tonga says with a grin, “and I wasn’t really a weapon”.

Yet we know of at least nine men who would disagree.

Understanding that since switching from rugby league to boxing two years ago, this now 26-year-old has suddenly emerged as a fighter of genuine potential.

That, and one the most intriguing yarns on a Wednesday night No Limit pay-per-view already boasting plenty – especially given it’s being headlined by American superstar Keith Thurman and Aussie prospect, Brock Jarvis.

Sure, Tongotongo isn’t the Hordern Pavilion’s No.1 prospect.

Same as he doesn’t even own that honour in his own fight – what with hyped rival Kirra Ruston, undefeated in four fights, and with four finishes, starting the $1.48 favourite in a bout where our man is almost three bucks.

But you don’t reckon he has a puncher’s chance?

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Since switching from rugby league, where he was causing all sorts of chaos for Corrimal Cougars, this former NRL wannabe has fought nine times, winning them all via knockout.

And taking to something of a new level, a famed rugby league defence that, apart from seeing him sin binned and suspended, also had Tonga acting as both enforcer and bodyguard for his halves.

“For me it was more about, you know, trying to make the other guy my bitch,” Tongotongo grins of his signature playing style.

“But a guy like Cleary, weapon.

“The nicest guy too, man.

“And so calm.

“Usually with captains, they’ll yell when you make a mistake.

“But playing in his sides, it was always ‘all good, bro … next time, next time’.”

And as for his own career highlights?

“I’ve represented my country,” he says without a hint of fanfare, “but that’s about it.

“I played for Tonga at the 2018 Commonwealth Championships and, a year later, played for my other island, Niue, in Oceania Cup rugby.”

Which brings us, finally, to that corporate fight night when, aged 21, everything changed.

“It was going to be league versus union,” Tonga recounts.

“I was going through a pre-season with Corrimal Cougars and our coach asked ‘is anyone interested in a fight?’.

“But nobody put their hands up …”

Or at least not immediately.

“Eventually I said ‘OK, I’ll do it’,” the fighter continues, grinning at the memory.

“I said ‘I’ll represent league’.”

So how did you go?

“I didn’t end up fighting a rugby player,” he explains.

“My coach, he started saying I punched too hard, said I may as well go and have a proper fight.”

So he did.

“Growing up, I’d always heard stories about my uncle back in Tonga, a national boxing champion,” Tongotongo continues.

“So when it came time for the night, I decided to have an amateur fight. It was only going to be the one though …”

So what happened?

“I lost,” he shrugs.

“Which only amped me up.

“Initially I was only going to have that one fight.

Thurman vs Jarvis | WED 12 MARCH 7PM AEDT | Australia’s Brock Jarvis will take on former Welterweight World Champion Keith Thurman in a blockbuster event at the Hordern Pavillion. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.

“But after losing, I just kept at it …and eventually fell in love with getting my face punched.”

Same deal punching the face of others.

After dropping his first amateur fight, Tonga would then win five straight before turning pro in 2022 – where he has since ended another nine rivals by KO.

Asked where his power comes from, the former leaguie laughs: “Eating KFC and taro”.

And as for his fistic goals?

“Like everyone else, I’d love to eventually get a world title shot,” he says.

“But really, I just want to earn enough money to take care of my family.

“My family comes first, always.”

And as for now fighting on the same card as future Hall of a Famer, Thurman?

“Oh, I’m nervous,” he admits.

“And win or lose, I just want to really put on a show for the fans.

“Because I’ve never been on a card like this before.

“Even being noticed by No Limit, it’s a big thing for me.

“So once I get out there, I’ll just try to box.

“And then if the knockout comes … yeah, it comes.”