Hopoate hyped up for Las Vegas bout

John Hopoate says fighting former world heavyweight boxing champion Oliver McCall
will be the highlight of his sporting career, but doubts he will ever totally shed
his rugby league bad boy reputation.
The former NSW and Australian winger heads to the United States on Sunday to prepare
for his May 22 clash with 44-year-old McCall for the vacant IBA intercontinental
title in Las Vegas.
Hopoate, 34, played in Manly's 1996 grand final winning side and played two Tests
and represented NSW in State of Origin.
Turning to boxing in 2006 following a host of league suspensions, Hopoate won the
Australian title off Bob Mirovic in September 2008.
With a record of 11 wins (11 KOs) and two losses, Hopoate is vastly less experienced
than McCall whose log stands at 51 victories (36 KOs) and nine losses.
However, Hopoate declared he was very confident and in the fittest and most
committed form of his life as he prepared for what he described as the "ultimate
goal" of his sporting career so far.
"This is a single man sport and you are by yourself where as the other ones (rugby
league) they were massive occasions, but I had 12 other guys out there to help me
out," Hopoate said.
"Here, you are by yourself so it has to compare on top of rugby league."
Hopoate said he was treating the bout with McCall, who was the first man to beat
Britain's Lenox Lewis, as the real "start" of his boxing career after fighting
mainly local boxers to date.
He said he was very confident of beating McCall because of the age factor and the
fact his American opponent hadn't fought since October 2007.
"He might be a bit aged now, but he's still got a lot of experience and that right
hand of his is still lethal," Hopoate said.
McCall made one successful WBC title defence against fellow American Larry Holmes
before losing the crown to another Briton Frank Bruno and losing a 1997 rematch to
Lewis.
While he harboured hopes of fighting for bigger titles, Hopoate accepted he would
still be remembered for his rugby league indiscretions no matter what he did in the
ring.
He even cheekily suggested his 12 match suspension in 2004 for sticking his fingers
up the backside of opposing players had helped take rugby league to a new audience.
"They are still going to say I was the most suspended player in rugby league history
(but) in saying that I did take the game global with my finger antics," Hopoate
said.
"The NRL should have paid me for taking the game global, no one knew who they were."
Hopoate, who has sparred with two other leading Australian heavyweights, world
ranked Kali Meehan and another former rugby league star Solomon Haumono, will base
himself at the Sunset Boulevard gym of Australian trainer Justin Fortune.