The future plans for Quade Cooper’s sporting career have been revealed today after he fronted a press conference in Brisbane.
Flanked by good mate Sonny Bill Williams and manager Khoder Nasser, Cooper has declared his intention to enter into the boxing ring and put his rugby career on hold.
Cooper said his interest in boxing came about after attending his first live boxing bout, and that interest continued during his layoff from the knee injury he suffered at the 2011 World Cup.
Cooper wasn’t going to speculate on the ARU negotiations, stating that his current contract ends on 31 December 2012 and that his current focus is to fight on the Williams undercard on 8 February 2013 — most likely in the cruiserweight division.
Nasser did add that there was total communication breakdown between the ARU and himself and suggested that the ball was in their court on how the negotiations would proceed from this point. It sounded like a resolution would be some time.
Cooper’s decision comes after rumours in the past week suggested that he would quit rugby after receiving a reduced contract offer by the ARU for 2013 and beyond, despite having signed a three year deal with the Queensland Reds earlier in the year.
This latest saga adds another chapter to the rocky Cooper–ARU relationship, following the recent fine levied on Cooper for comments relating to the Wallabies and the ARU.
