Shane Cameron relives crushing by David Tua in Fight of the Century

David Tua had Shane Cameron on the ropes. Photo / photosport.co.nz

It’s 14 years since an unforgettable night in New Zealand sport, when David Tua crushed fellow heavyweight boxer Shane Cameron in the so-called Fight of the Century.

The eagerly anticipated clash between the Kiwi stars had been a long time in the making, but was over in a brutal flash.

Anyone who saw Tua’s brilliant assault in Hamilton, which finished Cameron off in round two, will never forget it. But Cameron, who had no recollection of what happened, watched the fight video for the first time just last week.

“I’ve just done a video commending Tua and put it on social media,” the 45-year-old Cameron told Gold’s Country Sport Breakfast host Brian Kelly.

“It was just one of those nights. Fourteen years later, I watched the fight last week for the very first time. [I thought] is that all I did, just move around? He caught me early and I never recovered.

“I’d been caught by some blokes in my time and knew what was happening, but when he caught me I didn’t know anything. When I watched the replay I thought, oh, that’s what I did.”

Cameron said that as a boxer on the rise, he had called out Tua - who fought Lennox Lewis for the world crown in 2000 - to help build his own career “when I was a nobody”.

The boot was on the other foot when Tua returned serve later.

“He needed me more than I needed him then, and I thought, I don’t need this fight – I’m only a couple of fights away from a world title,” said Cameron, whose world ranking reached as high as six.

“But I’m a man of my word and took the fight, and it didn’t go well for me that night.”

Cameron said the old rivals get on well now.

“We didn’t at the time. It was strictly business promoting it, then it got personal,” he said. “By hey, we’re not playing marbles here. That’s what boxing can be. You say things in the heat of the moment – that’s just life.”

Cameron is still involved in boxing and fitness, with an equipment company, app and gym.

He said Kiwi boxing was in its healthiest state for a long time, and reckoned he and Tua could take a lot of credit for that.

When asked about a rematch with the 50-year-old Tua, instincts kicked in.

“I’m ready…I’m sure he is too,” Cameron said.