NZ Herald Focus Sport's Christopher Reive takes on Shane Cameron in the ring. Video / Alex Burton
The world of boxing is built on the highest highs and the lowest lows, and Shane Cameron has seen both ends of the spectrum.
In 29 professional wins, Cameron scored 22 stoppages. In his five career losses, he was stopped three times.
Cameron is well versed in the inner workings of the knockout; an art that brings elements of both beauty and brutality to the sport.
"It's the punch you don't see that does the damage," Cameron explains.
"I've done it to fighters and had it done to me; the nation knows about when David Tua caught me with his left hook – he didn't put me to sleep, but shit man, I didn't know really where I was after that. It was a punch I didn't see. If I'd have seen it, I would've blocked it. It might have still hurt me, but it wouldn't have had the effect it had on that night.
"It's just a brutal sport that we're involved in; there's one winner and there's one loser – sometimes you'll get a draw, but very rarely."
While many spectators will tune in to the sport in the hope of seeing a highlight-reel knockout, it's not something that every athlete in the sport can pull off anytime they step into the ring.
It takes a combination of power, precision and preparation to land that fight-ending blow, and while athletes with lights-out power can rely on it for one shot to end the fight, others accumulate damage throughout the contest which can pay off late.
Shane Cameron celebrates after stopping Monte Barrett. Photo / Photosport
"A lethal combination is someone that's got some power and some speed ... not every fighter has the power to knock a person out every time they get in the ring," Cameron explains.
"They could be very skilled and very clinical in the ring, but they don't have the power. You either have the power, you were born with the power, or you weren't born with the power. If you don't have the power, you might have very good skills to be able to stay out of the way and still land some effective punches so you're pinching each round as you go."
For Cameron himself, going into a fight with the goal of knocking his opponent out was never the plan. Boxing is an unpredictable sport at times and competitors have to be prepared for anything that might come their way.
But while he didn't specifically look for that devastating blow, he would take it if it was there, knowing he absolutely had the power required to stop the fight with one well-placed hammer - which was always preferable to winning in the late rounds or by decision.
"I'd never look for it, but I knew full well that I was strong enough that if my punch connected on anyone's chin clean, they'd go over," Cameron says.
"The three months of training, it all comes down to that one night. Someone will go 'didn't you wish that you would have gone a few more rounds so you could get some more?' No. No. Because all the learning is done in training camp.
"During camp, I would do over 120 rounds of sparring before each fight, so I wasn't interested in going and doing a 10 hard-round contest of 12 hard rounds. If it comes early, it comes early. It's nice to get a bit more time in there, but I never thought about it that way, man; just get them out of there."
As for where to target in the search for that devastating knock, the head is the obvious target. Cameron says for a fighter with knockout power, a clean strike to anywhere on the head will likely get the job done, though the temple and jaw are the key areas.
Twenty-two of Shane Cameron's 29 career wins came via stoppage. Photo / Photosport
However, the head isn't the only target. Body shots are a very effective way to get an opponent out of the fight early, with a well-placed strike just under the opponent's floating ribs equally, if not more, effective.
"Unless it's a big shot you don't see, generally head shots will stun you or you'll get caught on the ear and are a little bit uneasy on your feet, but you can recover from that. You can be a bit smart and dance around the ring until your head becomes a bit clearer," Cameron explains.
"But a body shot, if you get caught with a body shot right below your floating rib, if it's on a 45-degree angle ... if you threw a punch on me and I was breathing wrong, I'm out. I'm out in terms of not being asleep, but you can't breathe; you just can't breathe.
"With body shots, people, from the naked eye, go 'why are they going down? They should just get back up.' But they can't get back up; they can't breathe, and you don't want to get up and continue fighting when you can't breathe."
Stoppages come in various forms. A knockout is ruled when a fighter lands a blow that knocks his opponent unconscious, as Cameron did against Monte Barrett in their 2012 bout, or if the felled athlete cannot beat the referee's count.
A technical knockout is ruled when the referee makes the decision to wave the fight off. This can happen at the referee's discretion as is often seen when a fighter has beaten the count but is still groggy, or if a fighter has been dropped several times in a round. A TKO is also ruled if the towel is thrown in or, in some cases, if the doctor rules a fighter cannot continue.
"At the end of the day, we're fighters. I'll go 'yeah man, I'm alright' when, really, I'm not alright, but I'm a fighter," Cameron says.
"The referee is there to make sure you aren't taking any more unanswered punches; you aren't taking any more damage to your body or head. It's in your best interest.
"I've seen some thinking 'you need to stop this fight. This guy's nowhere near going to win; you're going to injure this guy.' I do cringe around that and that's why it's important to have good referees."
Shane Cameron scored a memorable knockout win over Monte Barrett in 2012. Photo / Photosport
When Joseph Parker steps into the ring across from Derek Chisora on Sunday, the art of the knockout will be on the minds of spectators as there is every chance the fight is over before the final rounds. Both athletes have plenty of stoppages on their records, although Chisora's style is the more knockout-friendly approach.
It's an important bout for both fighters as they look to remain relevant in the increasingly competitive heavyweight ranks, and one that Cameron predicts will be a good match-up for his fellow Kiwi.
"I back Joseph on this one," Cameron says. "I'm not saying that just because he's a countryman or anything like that, I back him because he's got the ability and if the new coach is bringing the good stuff out of Joseph, what he has to do is really land some authority punches; some strong punches to keep Chisora out. If Chisora takes some of his punches and thinks in his head 'he doesn't punch' then it's going to be a hard night for Joseph.
"Chisora is the brawler. Parker used to be a brawler, but he's not now, so it will be interesting to see how he goes. Who's going to have the knockout power? I think it's quite even. On paper, I think Chisora will struggle to knock Joseph out."
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