Solomon Haumono (; born 13 October 1975) is an Australian former professional boxer and rugby league player.
Early life He attended Newtown Boys High School, Newtown, New South Wales. He then went on to Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham and represented them in the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges Australian Schoolboys team 1993.www.sportingpulse.com NSWCCC Players Representing Australian Schoolboys 1972–2007
Rugby league career In rugby league, his preferred position was . He played in the NRL for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the Balmain Tigers, the St George Illawarra Dragons, and in the Super League for the London Broncos/Harlequins RL. Haumono played at representative level for New South Wales and Australia, although these three state matches and one international match were in 1997, when Super League contracted players were ineligible for State of Origin selection. He also captained Tonga.
Haumono made his first grade debut for Manly-Warringah in round 11, 1994 against Balmain, coming off the bench in a 42–0 victory at Leichhardt Oval. In 1995, Haumono featured heavily in the Manly side which won the minor premiership having lost only 2 matches all year. Haumono played from the bench in Manly's shock grand final loss to Canterbury. In 1996, Haumono played 14 games but missed out on selection in Manly's premiership winning side which defeated St. George in the grand final.
In 1997, Haumono signed with Canterbury who aligned themselves with the rival Super League competition during the Super League war. During the 1998 NRL season, Haumono walked out on Canterbury midway through the year after devising a plan to get out of his contract with the club. Haumono's plan was to join his supposed girlfriend Gabrielle Richens in England. Haumono elaborated on the plan saying "I was under contract for the Bulldogs so it was decided to come up with a plan that would ultimately force the Bulldogs to rip up my contract, So the plan was formed that I was going to chase after my girlfriend at the time in England. So off I went and before I knew it, the paper got a hold of it and blew it up, making headline news and myself being chased by the media at home and even there in London".
The plan was devised by Haumono and close friend Anthony Mundine but fell over when Canterbury got wind of the plot and instead fined Haumono and put him in reserve grade.
In 1999, Haumono signed with Balmain. Haumono only made 8 appearances for Balmain due to an elbow injury. In 2000, Haumono joined St George but only featured in 2 games, the last of which was the club's humiliating 70–10 loss against Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Return to League
Following a second spell with Manly in 2003, Haumono joined the London Broncos and played in the capital for two seasons. In December 2006, with a year remaining on his contract, Haumono quit rugby league to return to professional boxing.
Boxing career 2000 to 2002 Haumono first took time out of rugby league after his spell with the St George Illawarra Dragons in 2000. He followed in the footsteps of his father (Australian former heavyweight champion Maile Haumono) to take up a career in professional boxing. He fought eight times between 2000 and 2002, winning all of his heavyweight contests inside the distance. Haumono briefly held the title of New South Wales heavyweight champion before rejecting an offer to join the stable of American promoter Don King and returning to rugby league.
Return to boxing – post 2008 Haumono resumed his boxing career with a first-round knockout on 7 March 2007. He began training under trainer Johnny Lewis who has assisted Haumono in reaching his 14–0 (14 KOs) record in the heavyweight ranks. He fought Cliff Couser on 27 August 2008 and won the fight by unanimous decision. He fought Colin Wilson on 11 March 2009 with the fight going to a draw after ten rounds. Solomon won his next fight by disqualification on 16 May 2009 against Royce Sio (1–0–0). Haumono was floored in the eleventh second of the first round by a right hook from Sio, but Sio then leaned down and hit Haumono again while Haumono's back was on the ground, leading to an instant disqualification. Haumono was back on his feet a few seconds later.
Haumono fought Justin Whitehead on 16 August 2009 and lost for the first time in his career by split decision. He defeated Michael Kirby by tenth-round TKO for the OPBF Heavyweight Title on 18 September 2009, and became the Australian Heavyweight Champion after a tenth-round TKO of Franklin Egobi in Melbourne on 7 September 2012.
On 31 December 2012, he fought K-1 legend Kyotaro Fuijmoto under boxing rules, defeating him in the fifth round via technical knockout.
On 28 April 2013, he lost by technical to Kevin Johnson.
On 21 July 2016, he lost by technical to Joseph Parker.
Personal life Haumono is married to Margaret, who is a cousin of his friend and fellow rugby league player-turned boxer Anthony Mundine. Solomon and Margaret have five children."Solomon Huamono knows its a case of now or never for his boxing career", by: Grantlee Kieza From: The Courier-Mail 7 March 2012 12:00 a.m.
He dated English model Gabrielle Richens for a period of time during his time with Canterbury.
In 2015, Haumono revealed he had been suffering a drug addiction during his league career. He was addicted to ice, cocaine and ecstasy.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes30LossTomasz AdamekUD1024 Jun 201729Loss24–3–2Joseph ParkerTKO4 (12), 21 Jul 201628Win24–2–2Manuel Alberto PuchetaKO6 (10), 27 Apr 201627Win23–2–2Hunter SamUD1030 Oct 201526Win22–2–2Filipo Fonoti MasoeKO4 (6), 24 Jul 201525Win21–2–2Marcelo NascimentoTKO3 (8), 17 Oct 201324Loss20–2–2Kevin JohnsonKO10 (12), 28 Apr 201323Win20–1–2Kyotaro FujimotoTKO5 (12), 31 Dec 201222Win19–1–2Franklin EgobiTKO10 (10), 7 Sep 201221Draw18–1–2Joey WilsonSD85 Jul 201220Win18–1–1Junior PatiKO2 (6), 8 Dec 201119Win17–1–1Michael KirbyTKO10 (12), 18 Sep 200918Loss16–1–1Justin Whitehead1016 Aug 200917Win16–0–1Royce Sio1 (6), 16 May 200916Draw15–0–1Colin Wilson1011 Mar 200915Win15–0Cliff Couser827 Aug 200814Win14–0Tommy ConnellyTKO3 (6), 27 Feb 200813Win13–0Seiaute Ma'ilataKO2 (6), 10 Dec 200712Win12–0Mosese KavikaKO1 (6), 21 Apr 201211Win11–0Oscar TalemairaTKO1 (6), 25 May 200710Win10–0Alex MeneTKO3 (6), 27 Apr 20079Win9–0Fatu TuimanonoKO1 (4), 7 Mar 20078Win8–0Fatu TuimanonoTKO2 (6)14 Jun 20027Win7–0Auckland AuimatagiTKO6 (10)10 May 20026Win6–0Shane WijohnKO5 (6)19 Apr 20025Win5–0Mark AlexanderTKO3 (6)4 Mar 20024Win4–0John WybornKO 2 (10), 13 Jul 20013Win3–0Martin Opetaia7 (8) 2 Mar 20012Win2–0Paul SramaKO1 (6)4 Sep 20001Win1–0Ken Fuller2 (4)3 Jul 2000
References
External links Solomon Haumono's Official Website