Hopoate out to blast Shane Cameron, reputation

Shane Cameron's big hits

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A series of shots from Shane Cameron's career.

Fairfax Media

LOOKING FORWARD: Boxer John Hopoate wants to only look forward.

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Look through past media reports about John Hopoate and the chances are he has been described as ''the former rugby league bad boy''.

Hopoate, who played more than 200 games for Manly and Wests Tigers, said he couldn't deny the label.

It was a reputation was well-earned, with the 36-year-old forced out of the NRL after a number of unsavoury incidents, the most notorious of which was using his finger to poke opponents up the backside.

But Hopoate, who will tonight fight New Zealander Shane Cameron in a heavyweight bout at Flemington racecourse, believes that after nearly four years in the fight game he should be allowed to leave his past behind him.

''People never get over it, no matter what I do,'' Hopoate said. ''I could be a priest and I'd still be known as a former rugby league bad boy.

''I don't worry about it too much. They still want to call me that but I'm a boxer now … I haven't played league for five years and they're still calling me former league player when I've been fighting for so long and they don't even acknowledge it.

''But I don't care, I don't worry about it … the only regret I have is that I didn't finish rugby league on my terms, but I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't do all those things I did in rugby league and I did some dumb things but they were my choices.

''I never dobbed anyone in for things that I did, if I did it, I copped it, but that's just how I am. I just wished it finished a different way, that I called it quits on my own terms instead of me being run out of the game.

''Now that I am a father and my boy's [playing league], I'm pretty hard on [him] not following the same footsteps as me because there's nothing worse than being hounded by the media and getting suspended all the time, and they're watching you all the time. I want my boys to go a different path.''

Hopoate conceded that tonight's fight was a must-win after losing two of his past three fights by knockouts, including a second-round pounding at the hands of faded former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall, whose greatest moment was back in 1994 when he shocked the boxing world by beating Lennox Lewis for the WBC title.

It is a must-win not only for his career but also so that he can continue to support his family, which includes eight children, five sons and three girls, and with a ninth - a boy - on the way.

''It pays the bills, that's the main reason I'm doing it,'' Hopoate said. ''I've got to pay the bills and feed the family. I'd rather box than get in there and do an eight-hour [a day] job, so it's paying the bills and that's fine by me.

''I've said before that when I'm 38 I'm done. I'm definitely not going to 40 … but it will be lucky if I get to 38 and I'm still in sport, because my kids are now playing sport, so I've had my time and it's time to concentrate on them.''

Hopoate, who has a 12-4 record with 11 knockouts, said he was wary of the big New Zealander, who has 20 knockouts from 23 fights, with two defeats, but who was stopped in the second round by David Tua in his previous fight.

''He's a very good fighter ... this is my biggest test so far, but I wouldn't have taken it if I didn't think I was a chance and I'm here to win,'' Hopoate said.

Hopoate, who has been sparring with former heavyweight title contender Kali Meehan, was riled by comments from the Cameron camp last year that questioned his heart after he initially pulled out of the match-up citing personal reasons before recommitting to it. Hopoate has targeted Cameron's manager Ken Reinsfield for the comments, rather than Cameron, saying he found it particularly difficult to stomach the comments from ''a freaking bucket boy who doesn't have a clue, [and] is telling someone who is in the boxing game whether he's got a heart of not''.

''He was questioning if I had heart. I don't like that. I had some personal issues that I had to deal with and that's why I postponed it … to tell the truth I'd rather bash Ken than Shane,'' Hopoate said. ''Shane is a fighter … I think I am going to bash Ken after my fight with Shane, so we'll all know who has the heart.''

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