[ad_1]
Anthony Mundine has always had a complicated relationship with logic.
Logic once told “ The Man ” that leaving behind a $ 600,000 contract with the Dragons to get into boxing, with no amateur background, was an extremely risky proposition.
Fifty-eight fights and $ 34 million later, it is easy to understand why Mundine gives no relevance to conventional thinking.
And who could blame him? More often than not, the Australian sport icon has redefined the boundaries what athletes can achieve without giving credit to the status quo.
This time around, logic suggests the 45-year-old has virtually no chance against Michael Zerafa on March 13 at Bendigo Stadium. Zerafa, 17 years younger than the former league player, is a bookmakers favorite at $ 1.06. Mundine pays $ 7.75 for the win.
Not everyone agrees with Mundine’s plans to return, after the Main Event turned its back on the fighter, forcing him to air the shock for $ 29.95 on www.mundine.tv. Jeff Fenech has expressed fears for Mundine’s health. Her father also has reservations. Fans and members of the media feel the same way.
Despite an avalanche of opposition, minutes after speaking to “ The Man, ” it’s clear his level of confidence is unwavering.
“I’m going to give it a reality check and redeem myself and take all the glory out of it. Nobody thinks I’m going to win,” he told Wide World of Sports.
“Brother, if I win this fight I’m back in the game and I have a lot more options. If anything motivates me to fight again, maybe fight for a world title or a fight with a lot of money.”
Not much, right? Mundine has said much crazier things about far crazier things. And you can’t expect anything less from him, especially when he may be selling his last fight. But more often than not, these things don’t end well; he must know that.
While Mundine will swear he truly believes he can beat Zerafa to cause one of the greatest upheavals in boxing history, even Mundine’s most ardent supporter cannot ignore his recent record and the pitfalls of similar returns by other boxers throughout boxing history. sport.
Mundine has lost four of his last five fights. His last outing against John Wayne Parr in November 2019 was supposed to see Mundine sail until sunset, but a shared decision loss changed all that.
Prior to the loss to the kickboxing icon, Mundine suffered one of the worst losses of his career with a first round knockout loss to Jeff Horn. But Mundine swears there was more to the story behind the Horn fight. The Queenslander camp conspired to have him at his weakest by putting weight restrictions on him within hours of the fight, he claims.
Horn takes controversial victory over Zerafa
“He emptied me at 71kg but then they made me weigh again an hour before the fight and I couldn’t weigh more than 75kg. So I couldn’t even put on four kilos. They knew what they were doing, it was strategic and was not fair, ”explains Mundine.
Mundine reckons that this time he will be a “different beast”, ignoring concerns about his health and the amount of punishment he has suffered. He says he has only been arrested four times in his boxing career and claims to have suffered more concussions while playing in the league.
Great performance can never be ruled out from a professional athlete, especially an athlete as talented as Mundine. His supporters could cite several examples of fighters returning to shock the world, when everyone thought they were done.
Horn says ‘man’ is different ‘behind closed doors’
George Foreman was out of the heavyweight division for 10 years only to return and become the oldest weight champion when he knocked out 45-year-old Michael Moorer.
After being floored for the first time in his career in a victory over Kevin Howard in 1984, ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard retired from the sport, only to return three years later to beat Marvin Hagler in a legendary 15 laps.
The comeback is etched in boxing’s DNA, although one cannot ignore the huge age disparity and the factor that will play out. Despite being in her fifties, Mundine acknowledges the issue of age with optimism.
“I’m still young, energetic. I’m seasoned and experienced. No matter how old he is. I wish he was younger,” Mundine said.
“I’m going to tell him about the whole fight. Every round. I’m going to hit him with a jab and say, ‘Gotcha.’ I’m going to get into his head.
“He would be lucky to beat me at 50. I wanna let the older folks know it’s not over until it’s over, baby.
For a daily dose of the best of the latest news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter in Click here!
[ad_2]
