Boxing: Wilson knocks out Hopoate

Australian heavyweight boxing champion John Hopoate suffered a stunning fourth-round knockout loss to veteran Colin Wilson in Hamilton.

In an eventful slugfest, Wilson climbed off the canvas in the third round and floored Hopoate late in that stanza.

Wilson crashed to the canvas early in the fourth, though the referee ruled it a slip, before the 37-year-old New Zealand-born Queensland-based boxer retrieved his footing and ended the fight in spectacular fashion.

He stunned 34-year-old Hopoate with a shot to the body and then delivered the coup de grace with a decisive left-hand punch to the head.

While Wilson could technically have been disqualified as his celebrating corner men charged into the ring before the count was finished, there was no denying him his moment of deserved glory.

The main preliminary bout on the Shane Cameron-David Tua heavyweight showdown provided plenty of fireworks.

In an eventful first round, former rugby league star Hopoate hurled his opponent to the canvas.

The wily veteran quickly retaliated with a low blow which prompted the referee to give Hopoate time to recover.

The second round was a close affair with Wilson possibly nicking it with a flurry of punches in the end.

Hopoate's famed right-hand punching power was underlined early in the third when he tagged Wilson with a big shot.

Wilson was up by the count of four and turned the fight around in the final 40 seconds of the round.

He caught Hopoate with a huge shot of his own and the Australian champion barely survived the remainder of the round.

The bout was scheduled for just eight rounds and Hopoate's Australian title was not at stake.

"I came here talking real big and saying I was going to knock Hoppa out and knock him out I did," Wilson said in his post-fight television interview.

"The thing is not to give in. I knew Hoppa was an incredible puncher, but I seemed to find something somewhere and come back," Wilson added.

The result improved Wilson's record to 35-25-1 (15 KOs) while Hopoate's record dipped to 12-4 (11 KOs).

In another undercard fight, former Australian super welterweight champion Frank Lo Porto recovered from two knockdowns in the first round to push Steve Heremaia all the way before the New Zealander scored a narrow unanimous six-round points win.

- AAP