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Sports correspondent & historian with |
My eldest son gave this boxing fan the perfect Father’s Day present: a copy of Mountain Warrior by Shane Cameron.
It is a compelling account of Cameron’s boxing journey and, as the back cover states: “This is the gripping, often surprising story of one of New Zealand’s toughest and most resilient fighters.”
What the reader gets is a warts-and-all account of Cameron’s boxing career, from his amateur beginnings through to his lengthy professional career, including his side of the story of the “Fight of the Century” against David Tua.
Chapter Four, Time to Come Home, recounts two crucial tournaments that led to Cameron’s participation in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, events for which I perhaps had the best seat in the house.
Cameron honed his boxing skills in the United Kingdom during his big OE but cut short his time overseas to return home and attempt to qualify for the New Zealand team for the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
His first major challenge, and where our paths crossed for the first time, was at the 2001 BNZ National Championships in Taupō, where I served as the ring announcer throughout the four days of competition.
After the preliminary bouts in the heavyweight division, Cameron faced Adam Forsyth for the New Zealand heavyweight title.
Both Cameron and Forsyth had returned to Aotearoa in pursuit of a potential Commonwealth Games berth.
Forsyth had won the BNZ light heavyweight title in 1999 while representing the Central North Island, before relocating to Perth in Western Australia.
Long-time fight fans at the 2001 nationals declared the heavyweight title decider one of the best they had ever witnessed, with Cameron earning a hard-fought victory on the judges’ scorecards.
The icing on the cake for Cameron was being awarded the prestigious Jameson Belt, presented to the most scientific (technically skilled) senior male boxer at the tournament.
A little-known back story to that heavyweight final is that Forsyth returned across the Tasman and, just a few weeks after his loss in Taupō, won the Australian heavyweight title. This effectively made him the No 2 Kiwi heavyweight and the No 1 heavyweight in Australia.
Cameron’s victory in the national heavyweight final qualified him to represent New Zealand at the 2002 Oceania Championships, also held in Taupō, where Commonwealth Games berths were expected to go to the gold medallists.
Once again, I was behind the tournament microphone. Cameron swept through his preliminary contests before dominating the gold medal bout, defeating Australia’s Michael Inness by a convincing 32-17 points decision.
The untold story of finals night at the Oceania Championships was the disruption that affected the latter stages of the competition, including Cameron’s major bout.
A fundraising sausage sizzle outside the venue brought proceedings to a halt when barbecue smoke drifted into the hall and triggered the fire alarms. Fire Brigade protocols meant competition could not resume immediately and it took about 45 minutes before the tournament restarted, playing havoc with the preparations of the boxers scheduled in the final bouts.
Cameron secured selection for the Commonwealth Games and achieved his goal of bringing home a bronze medal. He reached the semi-finals before losing to the eventual gold medallist.
Shortly after returning home from Manchester, Cameron turned professional, a chapter that occupies a significant portion of the book.
I would strongly encourage boxing fans to purchase Mountain Warrior. It tells the remarkable story of Cameron’s journey from the back blocks of Tiniroto to becoming the successful businessman he is today.