John Hopoate (born 16 January 1974 in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

) is a former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player and

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who was involved in numerous sport controversies and subsequently convicted for violent crimes. He played rugby league in the

Tonga national rugby league team The Tonga national rugby league team ( to, timi līki ʻakapulu fakafonua ʻa Tonga) represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the second ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, an ...

Australian Rugby League team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian ...

NSW ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

team and in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

(NRL) for

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

(including their 1996 Premiership team),

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

and the

Northern Eagles The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team, that competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by the merger of the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Nort ...

. He became the "most suspended player of the modern era". In 2018 he was banned for 10 years by the

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

from any involvement in its and affiliated rugby league. Hopoate was the Australian heavyweight boxing champion from 2008 to 2009. He is the father of footballers

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Jamil Jamil ( ar, جميل) is an Arabic given name. It means "handsome" in Arabic as well as "beautiful". The Latin spelling variants include Gamil (used mainly in Egypt), Cemil (in Turkish), Djemil or Djamel (mainly in North African countries influence ...

and Albert Hopoate.

Childhood and personal life

Hopoate was born in Nukualofa,

on 16 January 1974. His family moved to Australia and he lived in the Manly area of Sydney before moving to the western suburbs as a teenager. Hopoate is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

Rugby League career

Former Australian international

Bob Fulton Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian international rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great succe ...

recruited Hopoate to the Manly club after witnessing his power and skill playing as a junior for a Manly Cove team before then going on to play in the under nineteen New South Wales team.

1993-99 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

Hopoate signed with the

club in 1993 while nineteen years of age and made his first grade debut against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

Brookvale Oval Brookvale Oval (also known by the commercial sponsorship name 4 Pines Park) is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Northern Beaches Council and is primarily used by th ...

6 June the same year. He played in the

in the

1994 Pacific Cup The 1994 Pacific Cup was the seventh staging of the Pacific Cup. It is a rugby league tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted by Fiji and eventually won by Tonga, who defeated the hosts 34 - 11 in the final. Squads Befo ...

, however he was in and out of the first grade team on a regular basis, not holding down a regular position until 1995. Hopoate's early season form in 1995 was sublime as he went on to score eleven tries from his first eleven first grade appearances and subsequently lead the try scoring table. After his spectacular form and try scoring feats during the 1995 season Hopoate was called up to his first senior representative match for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in game one of the 1995 State of Origin series. After a decent performance from Hopoate he was retained for the second game but then subsequently dropped from the third game because of an injury. Over the remaining rounds of the

1995 ARL season The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby Leagu ...

Hopoate went on to score a total of twenty-one tries, finishing second in the top try-scoring table to teammate

Steve Menzies Steve Menzies (born 4 December 1973), commonly referred to by his nickname "Beaver", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer best known for his career with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. He also played for the Bradford Bull ...

. He was instrumental in Manly's good form leading into the finals series but Manly lost to the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.1995 World Cup but the ARL selected him in the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

team under the residency rule. He played in the opening match of the cup yet failed to score and then made a vital mistake that became the turning point in a match that was eventually won by the English team. In the following match, against the South African team, Hopoate scored three times in the 86 to 6 victory. In his fourth season at Manly, Hopoate was again instrumental in his team's fortunes. He began the season slowly in comparison to his previous year with only five tries over the first twenty rounds of the season but his defence had improved immensely; helping his team to concede less tries. He scored another six tries for the season including four in one game against the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen pla ...

and ultimately helped his Manly team to their first premiership in over eight years. In the 1997 season, Hopoate again started the season slowly, scoring only two tries in twelve games but in the round twelve match against the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

he scored three tries and continued his form scoring eight tries in his next six games and a total of fifteen for the season.

2000-01 Wests Tigers

Signing for the newly merged

in 2000 Hopoate scored just five tries in the season. He was suspended several times during the season, including being charged with 'contrary conduct' in a late season game against Melbourne resulting from over ten separate incidents in that game. In 2001, Hopoate began the season poorly, scoring only one try in several games, before involvement in incidents of inserting his fingers into the backsides of three players resulting in his being suspended for twelve weeks and agreeing to part ways with the Tigers club.

2001-02 Northern Eagles

Hopoate thought his career would be over. However, his former employers in the Manly reserve grade team signed him onto their books for the remainder of the season where his good form earned him a call-up to the Northern Eagles first grade team late in the season. Hopoate ran 3,976 metres with the ball over the 2002 NRL season, more than any other player in the competition. In the following year, he scored ten tries for the Eagles before the club disbanded in 2003.

2003-05 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

With the reinstatement of the Sea Eagles for the beginning of the 2003 season, Hopoate was signed to the club where he made his debut ten years earlier. He began the season with several impressive performances but, again, his on field indiscretions were the only headlines he was achieving. His following two seasons were poor, with several on field and off field incidents earning him both fines and suspensions. In a 2005 game against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Hopoate attempted a reckless shoulder charge, making contact to the head of forward

Keith Galloway Keith Galloway (born 2 September 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers in the NRL, and the Leeds Rhinos i ...

with his elbow. Hopoate was suspended for seventeen weeks by the NRL and the Manly club terminated his contract, effectively ending his career. He made a final statement on the Sea Eagles website thanking his fans and supporters and apologising to his wife Brenda and eight children.

Rugby league controversies

2001 on-field indecent assaults

During a 2001 game with the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

, Hopoate inserted fingers in three players' backsides and

anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, d ...

es. The first incident occurred during the seventh minute of play. The matter was referred to the rugby league judiciary on 28 March. Hopoate was suspended for 12 weeks for what one commissioner described as "disgusting, violent, offensive behaviour". Hopoate claimed, in front of the panel of judges, that he was just trying to give all three players a

wedgie A wedgie is the act of forcibly pulling a person's underpants upwards from the back. The act is often performed as a school prank or a form of bullying. Wedgies are commonly featured in popular works, either as a form of low comedy or as a be ...

with his fingers, denying he had done anything wrong and that he was "a great believer in what happens on the field should stay there". The three victims in the case, Cowboys players Glenn Morrison, Peter Jones and Paul Bowman all disagreed with Hopoate's reasoning. According to Jones, "It wasn't a wedgie. That's when your pants are pulled up your arse. I think I know the difference between a wedgie and someone sticking their finger up my bum", while Bowman said he was "disgusted" and "couldn't believe it". Hopoate was found guilty of 'unsportsmanlike interference'.

2003 breach of contract

In the 2003 season Hopoate breached the terms of his playing

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

by playing in a fifth-grade

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

match in the Sydney competition on 9 June under a false name in an attempt to not get caught. After his Manly club found out and confronted Hopoate he admitted that he had breached his contract and was then fined $5000.

2004-5 abuse of sideline officials

During the 2004 club season, Hopoate become involved in more controversy. While leaving the field at the conclusion of a match Hopoate started a heated argument with a

touch judge A touch judge is an official who monitors the touch-line in a game of rugby union or rugby league and raises a flag if the ball (or player carrying it) goes into touch. Touch judges also stand behind the posts to confirm that a goal has been scored ...

in which he verbally abused the official. Hopoate was given a lengthy suspension by the NRL. In the round one clash with the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

, Hopoate verbally abused a 14-year-old rugby league ball boy who had placed the ball on the sideline of the field rather than throwing it infield to the Manly player. The NRL review found that the ball boy had acted within the guidelines and Hopoate was in the wrong for his verbal assault. Hopoate apologised to the young boy claiming that "he was not aware of the proper interpretation of the rule" and was in the wrong.

2005 elbow to head incident

On 19 March 2005, Hopoate was again in trouble with the NRL, this time in a match against the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

. During the 30th minute of the game he made a charge at Cronulla forward

with his elbow in a cocked position jumping and striking Galloway in the head immediately knocking him unconscious, leaving him on the field with a

laceration A wound is a rapid onset of injury that involves lacerated or punctured skin (an ''open'' wound), or a contusion (a ''closed'' wound) from blunt force trauma or compression. In pathology, a ''wound'' is an acute injury that damages the epiderm ...

to and bleeding from his ear. After immediate review from the third

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

Hopoate was sent from the field for the remainder of the match while Galloway was stretchered from the field in a neck brace and took no further part in the game. The NRL match review committee referred Hopoate's conduct to the

NRL Judiciary The NRL Judiciary is the disciplinary judiciary of the National Rugby League (NRL), a rugby league competition. The Judiciary regulates the on-field conduct of players from NRL clubs. Due to changes announced on the eve of the 2022 NRL season, th ...

. At the judiciary hearing on 22 March, Hopoate's lawyer and coach attempted to argue that he was doing nothing more than "trying to go for a shoulder charge" and that his raised arm was just an attempt to protect his ribs. His contrition carried little weight with the panel and ultimately his defence failed to convince anyone that he had done nothing wrong and he was given a seventeen-game suspension. With his season over, the Manly club, that had stood by him through many of his career indiscretions, decided they had no other choice than to terminate his contract with immediate effect on 23 March 2005.

2005 threats to junior official

On 9 December 2005, Hopoate was banned from NRL

for 12 months after threatening a junior official at a local match.

Post playing incidents

2016 attempted coaching without NRL registration

In 2016, Hopoate started coaching Manly's

S. G. Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne (Victoria Thunderbolts) also participate. Prior to the C ...

side until The NRL claimed the former international was not of fit and proper character to mentor young and impressionable men, threatening the Sea Eagles with a breach notice if they didn't stand Hopoate down. The NRL then released a statement saying "He is not registered to coach. Mr Hopoate has taken the matter to the Supreme Court. The NRL is contesting his case and has not changed its stance at all". In a social media post, Hopoate wrote "I'm back, NRL asked if we can withdraw the court proceedings cause they don't have juristriction over SG Ball, so I can coach this week Cheeho! Following up with the hashtag: “#NoHardFeelingsTimeToMoveOnAndLetThePastBeThePast#”. The NRL denied it had cleared Hopoate to coach, tweeting: "The NRL has NOT cleared John Hopoate to coach Manly’s SG Ball side". On 30 July 2016, Hopoate was forced to pay legal costs after he dropped his court case against The NRL. The NRL threatened to fine Manly $1 Million dollars and Hopoate $100,000 dollars if he continued coaching the court heard.

2017 threats to New Zealand World Cup player

In October 2017, Hopoate joined The Tongan camp for The 2017 rugby league world cup. In the build up to the tournament New Zealand player Adam Blair commented on Jason Taumalolo's defection to Tonga saying "You've got to be a man and own up to what you want to do, If you were man enough, you'd make the phone call and tell them". On 12 October, Hopoate responded to Blair's comments saying "Who the hell is Adam Blair to come and say that?, They don't say anything when we name him in our team and that they were meant to turn up for a camp – they name him and take him out of our team, So what are they complaining about? He wants to come play for his heritage and who the hell is Adam Blair?.I'll bash Adam Blair I don't care.

2018 ten year ban for punching and threatening players

On 24 July 2018, Hopoate was charged by the NSWRL for punching opposition players while playing for the Narraweena Hawks against Forestville in a local A Grade match. It was alleged that Hopoate also threatened players of the Forestville Ferrets side. He was subsequently banned from all involvement in NSWRL rugby league for 10 years.

2018 rubber glove prank

On 17 November 2018, Hopoate played for Manly in the Legends of League charity event. He was allowed to participate because the event was not controlled by the NSWRL. Hopoate courted controversy as he wore a rubber glove on one hand during a match against Newcastle, referencing his 12-week suspension in 2001 for sticking his finger into the anus of opposition players. The media branded the prank "grubby" and "repulsive".

Boxing career

With the termination of his Sea Eagles contract effectively bringing to an end his days of playing rugby league, Hopoate announced that he would begin training in an attempt to undertake a career in

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

. On 17 May 2006 he fought in his first professional boxing bout, on the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

of the

Anthony Mundine Anthony Mundine Jr. (born 21 May 1975) is an Australian former professional boxer and rugby league footballer. In boxing he competed from 2000 to 2021, and held the WBA super-middleweight title twice between 2003 and 2008. He also held the I ...

and Danny Green fight. Hopoate won his debut after only 47 seconds of the opening round,

knocking out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking ...

Frank "The Big Ship" Faasolo. After the quick victory, Hopoate challenged former professional

footballer

Mark Geyer Mark Bradley Geyer (born 7 December 1967) is an Australian radio host and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative sec ...

to a fight, citing his reasons as being "I know he hates being bagged, but for him to go sit behind a magazine and bag other players, I don't like that". Geyer turned down the challenge on the NRL Footy Show the following week. Instead, he followed-up against New Zealand fighter Alex Mene on 4 August, whom he defeated with a somewhat controversial fourth round

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

after the referee called a halt to the bout. Hopoate's third fight was against Ipswich Brothers and former

Gold Coast Seagulls The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from New South Wales Rugby League season 1988, 1988 to New South Wales Rugby League season 1994, 1994, the Australian Ru ...

rugby league prop forward Anthony Fowler. The pair had previously fought during an under-17 representative match 15 years earlier, but Fowler found little opportunity to trade blows with Hopoate as he was left motionless on the canvas after just 34 seconds of his only professional boxing appearance. Subsequently, he defeated two more heavyweights from New Zealand during bouts in Queensland. Hopoate first put a finish to one-sided event against Oscar Talemaira with a first-round technical knockout on 17 November. He then knocked out Hiriwa Te Rangi on 24 February 2007 after a stiffer contest that lasted five rounds, his longest fight to date. Hopoate then moved to a 6–0 record by dispatching the heavy-hitting Richard "Tootin'" Tutaki with a series of second round body-blows on 7 March 2007 at the

Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the E ...

, again on an Anthony Mundine undercard.

Lovemore N'dou Lovemore Ndou (born 16 August 1971) is a South African Australian, South African-Australian solicitor and former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He held the International Boxing Federation, IBF junior-welterweight title in ...

, the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

junior welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

champion, said after watching the bout that Hopoate is an embarrassment to the sport of boxing, and that he was disgusted with what he saw. As part of his scathing criticism of Hopoate, as well as

Willie Mason Viliami William Marshall Mason (born 15 April 1980), also nicknamed "Big Willie", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia and Tonga international and New South Wales State of Origin rep ...

's older brother Les, N'dou said: "Footballers like them thinking they can box turns what is a scientific and artistic sport into a circus. They are making fools out of themselves and fools out of a sport I love. I despise them and everything they stand for". On 30 March 2007, Hopoate experienced his first defeat, which came by Brian Fitzgerald. The result, a

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split dec ...

after six rounds, proved controversial and inspired Hopoate to say, "I'm being vilified again. It obviously has something to do with my playing days. I know I'm going to be 'John Hopoate' for the rest of my life. But I've tried to take a new road and I thought I was going along good, until this. They are racist cause I'm from Tonga, it's not bloody right. I never get a fair go from Aussies". On 13 April 2007, Hopoate suffered his second straight loss, inflicted by former national

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

champion, Ben Edwards, who was making his professional boxing debut. Hopoate's performance, which was brought to an abrupt end by technical knockout after just 90 seconds of the first round, was jeered and ridiculed by the 200-odd paying spectators, several of whom were seen to throw plastic beer cups in the direction of Hopoate. With three further bouts scheduled before July, he aimed to continue his career. However, following his earlier criticism,

has commented that Hopoate needs to "learn to fight properly", as well as the more inflammatory "Hoppa should stop putting his finger up other guys

es "; however, has now offered to help him out at no charge. On 10 September 2008, Hopoate became Australian heavyweight boxing champion. The Sydney fighter finished defending champion

Bob Mirovic Bob "The Big Bear" Mirovic (born 25 February 1966) is an Australian boxer of Croatian descent. Standing at 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) and with a reach of 203 cm (80 inches), he started boxing at the age of 22 in 1987. He has fought ...

deep into the ninth round of an epic bout at the Gold Coast convention centre. Hopoate cornered "The Big Bear" Mirovic and hit him with more than six clean punches to knock the 42-year-old to the floor. Mirovic got to his feet but his trainer

Jeff Fenech Jeff Fenech (born 28 May 1964) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2008. He won world titles in three weight divisions, having held the IBF bantamweight title from 1985 to 1987, the WBC super-bantamweight ...

threw in the towel to end the fight. After the title fight, controversy ensued, Mirovic claiming that Hopoate used illegal tactics during the bout which resulted in Mirovic having his arm broken. Mirovic believes he was illegally shoved to the ground in the sixth round, which left him with a broken arm and no hope of carrying on."I couldn't throw a punch for the final three rounds because of what Hoppa did," Mirovic said. "I'd cop it on the chin if I lost the fight fair and square, but there's no way I'll sit back if something illegal was done to me. It was a dog act by Hoppa. I can't do anything now for three months and I'm demanding Hoppa doesn't fight anybody else until he gives me a rematch." He fought

Cliff Couser Clifford Couser (born May 18, 1971) is a heavyweight boxing, boxer. Nicknamed "The Black Bull" and often "Twin Tyson" for his resemblance to Mike Tyson, Couser fought several contenders from his era. Couser has also claimed numerous times to be ...

on 20 March 2009 and won the fight by technical knockout after Couser did not answer the bell for the fourth round. Hopoate fought Oliver McCall on 22 May 2009 for the International Boxing Association (IBA) Intercontinental heavyweight title in a fight which he lost by second-round technical knockout after being knocked down twice in the fight. He fought Bob Mirovic again on 23 July 2009, beating him on points after a gruelling 10-round match. Hopoate fought

Colin Wilson Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his phil ...

on 10 October 2009, on the undercard of the

David Tua Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua (born 21 November 1972), best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was kno ...

and

Shane Cameron Shane Aaron Cameron (born 17 October 1977) is a New Zealand professional boxer. He is a former Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, having also held several regional titles at heavyweight. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the heavywei ...

fight. Hopoate started the fight well scoring a knock down in the third round, before Colin Wilson came back from the knock down to knock Hopoate down late in the same round. Wilson went on to win the fight knocking Hopoate out in the fourth round. Hopoate then fought

on 20 March 2010, losing the fight by disqualification in the second round after Hopoate wrestled with Cameron and tried throwing him to the ground more than he tried throwing punches. On 20 December 2018, Hopoate agreed to return to the ring to fight Cronulla player

Paul Gallen Paul Gallen (born 14 August 1981) is an Australian professional boxer and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward and captained the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL to their maiden NRL Premiership in 2016. ...

with the match being scheduled for 9 February 2019. Hopoate was knocked out in the second round of the bout. He said afterwards "I got caught by a good punch and I can’t hide from that, I went to sleep and fell over".

Criminal charges

In December 2010 Hopoate was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray following an incident at the Trademark Hotel in Kings Cross where he worked. Hopoate was employed as a Responsible Service of Alcohol marshall and not for security. In August 2013 Hopoate pleaded guilty to intimidating a parking officer outside the Trademark Hotel in June 2013. He was fined $400 over the incident. In May 2016 Hopoate was arrested and charged with common assault after an incident involving an employee of a Crows Nest supermarket. Hopoate subsequently pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to a $1500 fine and an 18-month good behaviour bond.

References

External links

*
John Hopoate's Sportsplayer Management CompanyState of Origin Official website Rugby League player stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopoate, John 1974 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian Latter Day Saints Australian male boxers Australian rugby league players

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players People from Tongatapu Northern Eagles players Rugby league wingers Tonga national rugby league team players Rugby league player agents Tongan emigrants to Australia Wests Tigers players