Rugby legend Jonah Lomu's kidney problems have forced him out of boxing and are seriously challenging his chances of living a normal life.
The former All Black, who spent two weeks in hospital with kidney failure during the Rugby World Cup, has revealed the full extent of his failing health after being inducted into the rugby hall of fame this week.
Lomu, 36, said he hoped that time spent on dialysis had improved his health and the state of his transplanted kidney - but doctors weren't filling him with hope.
His plans to box for charity later this year was "definitely not an option", he told Fairfax New Zealand at the International Rugby Board awards in Auckland on Monday night.
Lomu, who was diagnosed with the rare kidney disorder nephrotic syndrome in 1995 and received a transplant in 2004, said he was still undergoing dialysis regularly, explaining he didn't wear a tie to the event because he couldn't.
"I have two lines that are stuck in my neck where I just can't put any pressure on, and it's where I do the dialysis."
His doctors had not been able to give him any assurances that his health will improve, and in fact the odds were slim.
"I wasn't given any percentages. I was given a slim chance of things sorting themselves out, but a slim chance is better than none," the sports star said.
With his sporting career firmly over, Lomu says he plans to work on promotions for the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 and set up a rugby academy for elite coaching.
Regarded as rugby union's first global superstar, Lomu stole all the attention in the 1995 World Cup and still holds the record for most tries in the tournament, with 15 in total.
NZN