England and Northampton flanker Henry Pollock is considering a future in combat sports, including boxing and mixed martial arts, as he approaches a new contract with his club. The 21-year-old is expected to sign a two-year extension with the Saints but has also aligned himself with promoter Eddie Hearn's Matchroom agency, which he believes opens new avenues.
"I love my boxing and MMA," Pollock stated. "And now I’ve signed with Matchroom, it’s definitely opened new avenues into that. It’s cool to experience new sports and it’s cool to experience different scenarios."
While rugby remains his primary focus for the immediate future, Pollock is open to exploring other opportunities. "I’m open to everything and I’m never going to say no to an opportunity, but at the minute rugby is my main priority," he said. "But, as I said, you never know what’s happening around the corner."
Pollock expressed a desire to travel and experience different sports and environments. "I want to go and live in different countries, explore new sports, new avenues," he continued. "Obviously, Northampton’s been great to me. I’ve been here my whole career and they have made me who I am."
He added that while staying at Northampton would be special, he is aware of the complexities involved in contract negotiations and relies on his management team to handle them. "For me to stay here would be so special. I know it’s not as easy as that and there’s lots of moving parts that come into play. That’s why I have an amazing team around me that can work all the little things out for me. I’m very open to new opportunities and I’m very open to exploring that."
Pollock's current contract is set to expire at the end of the year, after which he plans to assess all his options. "I’m under contract until the end of the year and then after that we’ll see what happens. I’m going to have to assess all options. I’ve talked to my management about everything I can do."
Despite promoter Eddie Hearn's comments about Pollock potentially earning a million pounds a year, the player anticipates his new Saints deal to be worth approximately £450,000. Pollock indicated that Hearn's remarks do not add pressure, viewing them instead as part of the promoter's job. "I don’t see it as pressure. I see it as him doing his job. He’s the best sports promoter in the world. Eddie has been great for me, he has given me so many avenues to get into."
