Father-figure to hundreds: North Queensland boxing coach Shane ‘Fozzie’ Hooper dead at 52

The decorated former soldier survived multiple roadside IED bombings in Afghanistan to found Dreams Boxing Gym, where he become a father-figure to hundreds. Vale Shane Hooper

Boxing coach Shane Hooper died on Sunday, March 3 2024.

Popular Townsville boxing coach Shane Hooper has been remembered as a father figure to hundreds throughout his time in the military and as head coach at Dreams Boxing Gym.

Hooper died of natural causes on Sunday at the age of 52, leaving behind four children: Billie, Noah, Rhyleigh and Bailey.

Hooper lived a life dedicated to the service of others.

He was a decorated former soldier who was deployed on peacekeeping missions to East Timor and the Solomon Islands and was among the first Australians to see combat in Afghanistan after enlisting in 2001.

Hooper survived multiple roadside Improvised Explosive Device bombings which left him with serious back injuries, and a gunshot wound below the waist that saw him evacuated to Germany for treatment.

Australian Troops arriving at Townsville Airport from peace keeping in the Solomon Islands. Private Shane Hooper with son, Noah, 1. Picture: Stewart Mclean

Australian Troops arriving at Townsville Airport from peace keeping in the Solomon Islands. Private Shane Hooper is welcomed home by daughter Billie, 5. Picture: Stewart Mclean

Hooper was medically discharged from the Army in 2008 and founded the Dreams Boxing Club at the Aitkenvale PCYC, after a 2-10 professional fight career characterised by a refusal to back down from any fight - even when outmatched in skill or experience.

“He devoted his life to boxing,” his brother Greg ‘Scooter’ Hooper said.

“We had the same morals, taught to us by our father: you respect everyone’s rights, you don’t bludge, and you don’t look for an easy trip.

Boxers Shane Hooper and Shayne King at the Metropole Hotel. Pic Evan Morgan

“He had the Hooper dry sense of humour. He gave his heart and soul to his fighters and that’s probably his legacy. He served his country, got wounded and was always there for his boxers. If you do boxing properly, the fighters are your family and that’s what all his fighters were to him.”

Hooper’s former brother-in-law and long-term boxing colleague Les Sherrington said ‘Fozzie’ was a legend of a bloke without whom North Queensland’s boxing scene would never be the same.

“He did so much, for everybody, all the time. It was never a one-off thing,” Sherrington said.

“He had 12 professional fights but because he was from Townsville he didn’t get the opportunities he should have. He got lined up against some very tough guys, and Fozzie being Fozzie, said f---- it, he’ll fight anyone. He had a never say die attitude.

“Fozzie idolised Noah (his eldest son) and wanted him to do more, be more, than he ever could. He was super proud of Noah and he went above and beyond for so many kids, in and out of the gym.”

Noah Hooper and his dad Shane.

Philip Thomson MP served alongside Hooper in 1RAR and said the former boxer, 17 years his senior, had played a similar fatherly influence to the soldiers around him.

“He was a bloke’s bloke and a great guy,” the federal member for Herbert said.

“We spent considerable time together. He’s someone I considered a mentor and would give you the shirt off his back and dedicated a considerable amount of his life to boxing.

“He was an awesome soldier and fantastic at his job. He looked out, and for, everyone. He was that guy you went to when you needed something done.

“There was definitely a father-figure element. He wasn’t shy of pulling you into line but he would stand next to you.

“In a time of need, when I was at my lowest in a ‘ratbag’ state, he stood next to me. He made sure he supported me through it. That’s the father figure and gentleman that was Shane Hooper.”

Originally published as Father-figure to hundreds: North Queensland boxing coach Shane ‘Fozzie’ Hooper dead at 52