Harden up

Quade Cooper believes his boxing debut will toughen him up.

The Reds and Wallabies flyhalf will feature in the undercard to Sonny Bill Williams' fight with South African heavyweight Francois Botha in Brisbane next month when he squares up to Barry Dunnett.

"Mentally, boxing is something else," Cooper told AAP.

"You have to push your body through so many different limits and it's something that I've grown from and will continue to grow from, and the more I put in the more I'll get out of it.

"Mentally, boxing makes you a whole lot stronger and some of the training things I've had to go through are things I never thought possible and I've pushed my body to whole new limits.

"So I'm very excited about the rugby season and the fight just around the corner," he said.

Cooper is often 'shielded' from defending the busy flyhalf channel, with wing Digby Ioane taking on his defensive responsibilities whilst he hangs back, and he is hoping that his boxing bout will have a positive impact on his rugby.

"I feel this is something that has put me in a good position leading into the rugby season," Cooper said.

"It has given me something else to focus on and also been able to get me in great condition fitness wise as well as mentally."