Anthony Mundine Boxer
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Personal information
Nickname Choc; The Man (The Mouth); The Black Superman
Born 21 May 1975 (1975-05-21) (age 34)
Sydney, Australia
Playing information
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 73 kg (11 st 7 lb)
Position Five-eighth
Source: Rugby League Project
Anthony Mundine (born 21 May 1975) is an Indigenous Australian boxer[1] and former rugby league footballer. He is a former two-time WBA Super Middleweight champion boxer and current IBO Middleweight champion and New South Wales State of Origin representative footballer. He is also the son of legendary boxer, Tony Mundine.
Mundine has had a stormy relationship with the media.[2] His conversion to Islam in 1999, self-promotion and outspoken opinions have created a love-hate relationship with the Australian public.[3] He was named the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Person of the Year in 2000. He has also won The Deadlys Award as Male Sportsperson of the Year in 2003, 2006 and 2007 amongst others.
Rugby league
Born in Newtown, in the inner west of Sydney in 1975, Mundine played junior rugby league for Hurstville United, and while attending Kingsgrove High School, he played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1993[4]. That year Mundine signed with the St. George Dragons as an eighteen year-old[5]. He then went on to play in the 1993 Grand Final, which the Dragons lost to his future team, the Brisbane Broncos.
In 1994, he represented the Junior Kangaroos, the team that beat Great Britain's under-19s in the curtain-raiser to the Australia v. France Test at Parramatta Stadium.
In 1996, he played in another losing Grand Final, this time against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. At the end of that season he announced that he was signing with the Brisbane Broncos in the Super League competition.
In 1997 he played 18 games for the Broncos, scoring three tries.[6] He also played in his first winning Grand Final team, beating the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
In 1998, after turning his back on the Broncos, he returned to the Dragons.
Mundine was selected to play for New South Wales in each of the three matches of the 1999 State of Origin series, scoring a try in Game I. That year he also assisted the Dragons' run to the Grand Final, with a hat-trick against the Sharks in the Major Semi-Final. The following week the Dragons lost to the Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final. Ironically he missed a try that would have won the Dragons the title.
Mundine was disappointed that further representative honours did not follow, and believed that his representative opportunities did not reflect his abilities and achievements at club level. He raised the issue of racism as a possible explanation for this.
Anthony Mundine left rugby league half way through the 2000 season, after being persuaded to take on the world of boxing by a good friend of his father's, known only by his ring name 'AK', a heavyweight champion in Tripoli, Lebanon in the 1960s.
Boxing career
Mundine was trained by his father, Tony Mundine, who was a middleweight contender during the 1970s. His mother is Lyn Mundine.
Mundine fought his first professional boxing match in July 2000, at the age of 25. After a limited amateur career (he had 4 amateur fights when he was 17), his first professional fight was against New Zealander Gerrard Zohs. Only 10 professional bouts later Mundine fought for his first world title against long reigning IBF supermiddleweight champion Sven Ottke in January 2001. The fight ended suddenly after 10 competitive rounds when Ottke landed a blow to Mundine's temple that left the latter unconscious on the canvas. Despite this dramatic loss, he returned to the ring, promising to fight again for a world title.
Since the WBA and IBF super middleweight titles had been unified by Sven Ottke, Ottke was upgraded to 'super' champion status by the WBA and the WBA super middleweight title was declared vacant (see championship unification). Mundine went on to claim the vacant WBA Super Middleweight title with a unanimous points decision over Antwun Echols on 3 September 2003, in front of his home crowd at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. He successfully defended his title once, before losing it in a hesitant performance and split points decision against Manny Siaca.
Mundine failed in his attempt to re-gain the WBA super middleweight title after losing by decision to Mikkel Kessler on 6 August 2005 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.
Mundine's rivalry with Danny Green
Mundine's biggest Australian rivalry is with Perth-based Danny Green. In 2001, Mundine called Danny Green "a bum", and stated that Danny would be a "no hoper" against him.{cite} Danny Green, usually reserved and modest responded saying he would let his boxing do the talking. Green's manager, Bywong Drevikovsky from Northbridge, NSW agreed and suggested to Mundine he should not be as vocally confident as Green's preparation had been "nothing short of ideal".{cite}
The two boxers finally, after much anticipation, fought on 17 May 2006, at Aussie Stadium, Sydney. The bout was one of the most anticipated in Australian boxing history, and was thought to eclipse the attendance record of 37,000 when Jeff Fenech fought Azumah Nelson in their rematch in 1992.{fact} Green became the slight favourite about 2 hours before the bout. Mundine won a twelve-round decision by the following scores: Judge Michael Lee 116-113, Judge Pinij Prayadsub 118-111, Judge Derek Milham 118-112.
After Green
Mundine's next fight was against Argentine boxer Ruben Eduardo Acosta on 15 November 2006 at the Entertainment Centre in Newcastle. Mundine went on to win the fight with Acosta, beating him by TKO in the 4th.
On 7 March 2007 Mundine secured the WBA super middleweight title with a ninth round TKO win over Sam Soliman. Again, the title was the "normal" title that had been vacated when Mikkel Kessler was upgraded to super champion status by unifying the WBA and WBC titles. Mundine dominated throughout the entire match, knocking Soliman down once in round 2 and three times in the ninth round. Mundine defended his belt with a points decision on 27 June against Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas (17-1-1) of Argentina on the Gold Coast. Mundine hurt his right biceps in the 2nd round of the fight.
In early-August 2007, Mundine was hospitalised with an eye infection caused by a dirty contact lens,[8] which he had earlier tried to clean with his mouth.[9] The infection blinded him in his left eye, and was told that he was unlikely to regain full vision.[10] He was released from hospital on 15 August, 2007, stating that vision in his left eye is still blurry.[11]
After Mundine recovered from the injured biceps and eye infection, he went on to retain his WBA Super Middleweight title with a 4th round TKO over Argentine Jose Alberto Clavero. On the 27th of February, Mundine had his third title defence against fellow Australian Nader Hamdan and won a 12 round unanimous decision to retain his WBA Super Middleweight World title. The scores were 117-111, 120-108, and 119-109. Again Mundine defended his WBA world title against Sam Soliman, scores being 116-112, 116-112, 117-112.
Mundine relinquished his WBA Super Middle-weight title to avoid fighting his mandatory challenger Mikkel Kessler in May 2008. On July 7, 2008, Mundine fought Japanese boxer Crazy Kim, The fight was fought at middleweight, with Crazy Kim dropping Mundine in the 3 round, Mundine won by unanimous decision with scores of 98-92, 98-91, 99-91. On November 12, 2008, Mundine fought Uruguay boxer Rafael Sosa Pintos at a catchweight of 73.3kgs. Mundine won a unanimous decision, with judges scoring the fight 100-91, 99-91, 100-88. On Feb 11, 2009, Mundine won a unanimous decision over Shannon Taylor for the vacant WBA International middleweight title.
Mundine vs. Geale
May 27, 2009, Mundine faced International Boxing Organization middleweight champion Daniel Geale (21-0-13). Mundine won a split decision with two judges scoring 116-113 and 114-113 in favour of Mundine, and the other judge scoring 115-113 for Geale.
Music career
After appearing as himself in the music video "Like a Dog" by the Australian rock group Powderfinger and featuring in beatboxer Joel Turner's single "Knock U Out", Mundine has released his own debut single, "Platinum Ryder".[12] The film clip created controversy for the burning of the Union Jack and a photo of then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard [13]. His album, entitled Dreams is yet to be released.
Other media
Mundine is featured as part of the roster on the Fight Night Round 4 video game.
Public controversy
In an interview in October 2001, Mundine said of the September 11 terrorist attacks, “They call it an act of terrorism, but if you can understand religion, and our way of life, it’s not about terrorism. It’s about fighting for God’s law, and America’s brought it upon themselves”.
Boxing Record
| Professional record breakdown |
| |
| 39 matches | 36 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 23 | 1 |
| By decision | 11 | 2 |
| Date | Result | Opponent | Method | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| 05/27/2009 | Win | Decision (Split) | 12 |
| Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | Won IBO Middleweight Title | |
| 02/11/2009 | Win | Shannon Taylor | Decision (Unanimous) | 12 |
| Wollongong, NSW, Australia | Won Vacant WBA International Middleweight Title |
| 12/11/08 | Win | Rafael Sosa Pintos | Decision (Unanimous | 10 |
| Sydney, NSW, Australia |
|
| 7/30/2008 | Win | Crazy Kim | Decision (Unanimous) | 10 |
| Newcastle, NSW, Australia | - |
| 5/28/2008 | Win | Decision (Unanimous) | 12 |
| Melbourne, VIC, Australia | Defended WBA Super Middleweight Championship | |
| 2/27/2008 | Win | Nader Hamdan | Decision (Unanimous) | 12 |
| Sydney, NSW, Australia | Defended WBA Super Middleweight Championship |
| 12/10/2007 | Win | Jose Alberto Clavero | Knockout | 4 | 2:14 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | Defended WBA Super Middleweight Championship |
| 6/27/2007 | Win | Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas | Decision (Unanimous) | 12 | 3:00 | Broad Beach, QLD, Australia | Defended WBA Super Middleweight Championship |
| 3/7/2007 | Win | Knockout | 9 | 2:26 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | Won vacant WBA Super Middleweight Championship | |
| 11/15/2006 | Win | Knockout | 4 | 1:41 | Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| |
| 5/17/2006 | Win | decision (unanimous) | 12 | 3:00 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | WBA Super Middleweight Championship Eliminator | |
| 12/11/2005 | Win | Rico Chong Nee | Technical Knockout | 3 | 3:00 | Perth, WA, Australia |
|
| 9/7/2005 | Win | Rashid Matumla | Technical Knockout | 6 | 0:36 | Canberra, ACT, Australia |
|
| 6/8/2005 | Loss | Unanimous Decision | 12 | 3:00 | Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 2/2/2005 | Win | Darmel Castillo | Technical Knockout | 4 | 2:31 | Broadbeach, QLD, Australia |
|
| 10/13/2004 | Win | Juarne Dowling | Technical Knockout | 3 | 2:19 | Carrara, QLD, Australia |
|
| 9/8/2004 | Win | Sean Sullivan | Technical Knockout | 10 | 0:47 | Liverpool, NSW, Australia |
|
| 5/5/2004 | Loss | Decision (Split) | 12 | 3:00 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | ||
| 1/19/2004 | Win | Yoshinori Nishizawa | Technical Knockout | 5 | 0:43 | Wollongong, NSW, Australia | Defended WBA Super Middleweight Championship |
| 9/3/2003 | Win | Decision (Unanimous) | 12 | 3:00 | Sydney, NSW, Australia | Won vacant WBA Super Middleweight Championship | |
| 3/17/2003 | Win | Rogerio Cacciatore | Technical Knockout | 1 | ? | Carrara, QLD, Australia |
|
| 2/1/2003 | Win | Decision (Unanimous) | 12 | 3:00 | Auckland, New Zealand | Defended WBA Fedelatin Super Middleweight Title, Defended WBA Pan African Super Middleweight Title, Defended PABA Super Middleweight Title | |
| 11/2/2002 | Win | Technical Knockout | 11 | ? | Carrara, QLD, Australia | Won WBA Fedelatin Super Middleweight Title, Defended WBA Pan African Super Middleweight Title, Defended PABA Super Middleweight Title | |
| 9/2/2002 | Win | Soon Botes | Knockout | 3 | ? | Liverpool, NSW, Australia | Won WBA Pan African Super Middleweight Championship, Defended PABA Super Middleweight Championship |
| 7/15/2002 | Win | Technical Knockout | 3 | 2:04 | Melbourne, VIC, Australia |
| |
| 6/3/2002 | Win | Darren Obah | Technical Knockout | 6 | ? | Liverpool, NSW, Australia | Defended PABA Super Middleweight Championship |
| 4/1/2002 | Win | Roland Francis | Technical Knockout | 8 | ? | Carrara, QLD, Australia | |
| 3/4/2002 | Win | Brad Mayo | Decision (Unanimous) | 10 | 3:00 | Townsville, QLD, Australia |
|
| 12/1/2001 | Loss | Knockout | 10 | ? | Arena Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany | Lost IBF Pan Pacific Super Middleweight Championship, For IBF super middleweight title | |
| 10/20/2001 | Win | Guy Waters | Knockout | 2 | ? | Sydney, NSW, Australia | |
| 9/3/2001 | Win | Decision (Split) | 12 | 3:00 | Wollongong, NSW, Australia | ||
| 7/10/2001 | Win | Kevin Pompey | Technical Knockout | 3 | 0:57 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
|
| 6/18/2001 | Win | Mike Makata | Technical Knockout | 5 | ? | Liverpool, NSW, Australia | Defended PABA Super Middleweight Championship |
| 4/16/2001 | Win | Timo Masua | Knockout | 3 | ? | Carrara, QLD, Australia | |
| 2/19/2001 | Win | Marc Bargero | Technical Knockout | 6 | ? | Gosford, NSW, Australia | |
| 12/11/2000 | Win | Ian McLeod | Technical Knockout | 9 | ? | Wollongong, NSW, Australia | Fight Stopped On Cut |
| 10/30/2000 | Win | Heath Stenton | Decision (Unanimous) | 8 | 3:00 | Melbourne, VIC, Australia |
|
| 9/4/2000 | Win | Nik Taumafai | Technical Knockout | 6 | ? | Sydney, NSW, Australia |
|
| 7/3/2000 | Win | Gerrard Zohs | Knockout | 4 | ? | Sydney, NSW, Australia | Professional Boxing Debut |
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1993–96 St. George Dragons 60 30 3 1 127
1997 Brisbane Broncos 11 3 0 0 12
1998 St. George Dragons 23 7 0 1 29
1999–00 St. George Illawarra 33 19 0 0 76
Total 127 59 3 2 244
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999 New South Wales 3 1 0 0 4
