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SYDNEY - There wasn't much left to say about New Zealand heavyweight boxer Shane Cameron who braved a suspected broken hand and blood in both eyes to flatten veteran Bob Mirovic here last night.
"He's just a gutsy, all round, tough Kiwi country boy. I never had any doubts about his toughness. You'd have to shoot him six times before he'd fall," Cameron's manager Ken Reinsfield said.
Despite crushing a knuckle when a right hook slammed into Mirovic's concrete forehead in the first round, Cameron stretched his unbeaten professional streak to 18 when he knocked out the Australian in the eighth round at a packed Sydney Entertainment Centre.
At the first round interval on the Anthony Mundine undercard bout, Cameron could be heard on television microphones tell his trainer the hand was broken.
For seven rounds Cameron gritted his teeth and still punched with his right, but it clearly wasn't going to win him the fight as he prepared for a chance to produce a left hook.
It didn't help that two separate head clashes left Cameron bleeding profusely from above both eyes and needing regular attention.
"I pushed my knuckle back in my hand but it wasn't that painful, the adrenaline was running and it just went numb," Cameron said.
"I was always a bit hesitant throwing the right so I just waited and waited for that left and knew I'd eventually catch him. He's an old warhorse."
It was Cameron's 16th knockout and retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan-African heavyweight title, meaning he will likely enter the top-15 worldwide contenders for the WBA.
Going into last night he was 14th on the world International Boxing Federation (IBF) list.
Cameron, 29, was 11 years younger and 14kg lighter than the 118kg Mirovic, a Croatian-born tough nut who boasted 28 wins from his previous 47 fights.
Without his powerful right hand it looked a forlorn hope to achieve a knockout but suddenly with 20 seconds left in the eighth round, Cameron cracked Mirovic to the temple and it was all over with a thud.
"I feel pretty good," Cameron deadpanned later.
"I would have felt a lot better if I'd got out with no injuries but a victory's the most important thing."
Cameron planned to see the sights in Sydney today before returning to Auckland to have his hand x-rayed.
Reinsfield said the injury could put his next scheduled bout on May 17 against an unconfirmed opponent in Auckland in jeopardy.
"We need to see what the damage is. The cuts will take at least six weeks to heal properly.
"That was a fantastic result, and it's a pretty impressive record Shane's got now. I think we'll see him ranked in the top-15 in the WBA now."
And it wouldn't be the same without a challenge to David Tua, New Zealand's former world heavyweight contender who has so far rejected offers to fight Cameron.
"We'd fight Tua in a heartbeat, but you can see why Tua doesn't want to fight him," Reinsfield said.
- NZPA
