Terepo has signed up  for the Ladbrokes Star of the Ring Charity Fight Night, as part of a card that includes stoushes between Cronulla captain Paul Gallen and Canberra prop Junior Paulo and Todd Carney versus Chris Sandow.

However, Terepo didn't want an NRL player as his first opponent. The Parramatta prop went up to the promoter, Matt Rose of No Limit Boxing, and demanded a seasoned boxer first up. He got his wish in Randall Rayment, who has already had six pro boxing bouts – including a points loss to Gallen – and dozens more in the octagon as a mixed martial artist.

On the surface, it appears Terepo should be careful what he wishes for. But while he has yet to officially throw one in anger in the ring, Terepo has been a fighter his whole life. Before he had even hit his teens, Terepo had  been hit.

"Growing up, especially for Polynesian people, the older people are meant to look after the youngest and the youngest are meant to respect their elders," Terepo explained.

"But growing up in south Auckland, there were a lot of bullies, people were looking for kids to beat up.

"I was always going back home with black eyes, a busted lip and a broken nose. My dad was angry, there was nothing he could have done. I wouldn't tell him about that stuff.

"That was just the culture back home. You see nothing, you say nothing. But one day, my dad got sad, so he took me to the nearest sports store."

That was the day that everything changed. Ovalena Terepo bought his son 20 kilograms of weights, a punching bag and some gloves. And told him to get to work.

"I started learning from there," Terepo said. "Ever since then, whatever bullies were trying to pick on me, I've seen them as that punching bag.

"I've been standing up for myself, it was a relief to be standing up against those bullies. I was probably around 12 or 13.

"As I started getting used to those bags, I loved fighting.

"I was fighting people about 10 years older than me. I gained some respect around the area fighting bigger fellas.

"That's when I started falling in love with fighting."

 

Sparring: Peni Terepo in action at Blacktown PCYC on Saturday. Photo: Fiona Morris

"There are always people who still want to fight," he said.

"A fighter would hear there's someone else that knows how to fight too, so you would meet up some place and knuckle it out.

"They were pretty much your mates too, which was unfortunate."

For the likes of Carney, his bout at the Hordern Pavilion on December 9 is a one-off. However, Terepo is serious about juggling fighting and footballing careers.

"I want someone who can actually going to test me out," he said.

"It's good to fight footy players as well, but this is a real test for me to come up against an excellent fighter.

"I feel I've experienced enough at training and growing up. But I've still got a lot of work to do."

Terepo, a qualified butcher who has overcome epilepsy to make it as a professional athlete, is off contract at the end of the year. The Tongan international is hopeful of remaining in blue and gold.

"I've always been with Parramatta since I came over when I was 16," he said.

"Hopefully I can remain here because this club has a bright future, there are some good things to look forward to."