“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.
