I was watching a bit of TV the other night when an ad came on for the Jeff Horn/Anthony Mundine fight.
It started with Mundine saying: “I am the greatest. There is no other.”
This started a bit of debate. My mate believes Mundine is delusional enough to actually believe what he is saying.
I believe Mundine will say anything to promote himself and increase his take from fights.
In support of my argument, I pointed out some of Mundine’s other outrageous statements.
He called Cathy Freeman a sellout. The same Cathy Freeman who consistently risked suspension by draping herself in an Aboriginal flag after winning a race.
He called Arthur Beetson an “Uncle Tom” and criticised Laurie Daley for not acting like a Koori.
He tried to retract the Beetson statement, but what was said was said.
In 2012, while promoting his fight with Daniel Geale, a Tasmanian who claims Indigenous heritage, Mundine questioned whether Geale was in fact Indigenous.
“I thought they wiped all the Aboriginals from Tasmania out?” he said.
He did later apologise to Indigenous Tasmanians for these comments.
In 2013, Mundine tweeted that homosexuality was incompatible with his Indigenous beliefs.
First time I’ve ever heard Indigenous people are opposed to homosexuality.
Maybe Mundine blurred his lines a little, as it may have been his religious believes that led him to oppose homosexuality.
He had converted to Islam many years earlier.
Indigenous actor, Luke Carroll pointed out Mundine’s Islamic beliefs are actually at odds with the Aboriginal Dreamtime.
It seems to me Mundine will say anything to promote his fights, and he makes a pretty good ‘fist’ of it.
He doesn’t care what people think of him and is quite happy if an extra 10,000 people pay to see one of his fights in the hope he gets knocked out.
But can Mundine really believe he is the greatest athlete of all time? I don’t think even he really believes this — he can’t be that delusional.
Is he the best fighter the world has ever seen? No, he’s not even the best fighter that Australia has produced.
Jeff Fenech and Kostya Tszyu in my time have greater claims to this honour.
Then there’s the likes of Lionel Rose, Jimmy Carruthers and the great Les Darcy.
So how does Mundine’s record stack up against some of the greats?
Mundine has had 56 fights for 48 wins and 8 loses. Of his 48 wins, 28 were KOs (58 per cent).
Fenech had 33 fights for 29 wins, 3 loses and 1 draw. Of his 29 wins, 21 were by KO (72 per cent).
Tszyu had 34 fights for 31 wins, 2 loses and 1 no contest. Of his 31 wins, 25 were by KO (80 per cent).
Let’s look at a couple of international fighters.
Muhammad Ali had 61 fights for 56 wins and 5 loses. 37 of those wins were within the distance (72 per cent).
Joe Frazier had 37 fights for 32 wins, 4 loses and a draw. 27 of those wins were within the distance (84 per cent).
Floyd Mayweather Jnr had 50 fights for 50 wins, 27 by KO (54 per cent).
I could go on but I think you get the drift.
Maybe the stats don’t accurately reflect the fighter.
Maybe what’s more important is the class of opposition?
Mundine’s 8 loses were to Sven Ottke, Manny Siaca, Mikkel Kessler, Garth Wood, Daniel Geale, Joshua Clottey, Charles Hatley and Danny Green.
I had to Google some of these names to see who they are, but one name I know well is Garth Wood.
Now, being a solid Rabbitoh supporter, I would never want to dump on one of my own — but are you serious?
Garth had 12 wins from his 17 fights, half by KO. One of those was against — you guessed it — Anthony Mundine.
With no disrespect to Wood, if you get stopped by him in the 5th round of a 10-round bout, you lose the right to call yourself the best fighter of all time (while keeping a straight face).
Mundine’s definitely not the best Australian fighter. I’m not even convinced he’s the best fighter from his own family.
The Horn/Mundine fight by the way is in Brisbane on November 30 and can be seen on a pay-per-view basis at $59.95.
Mundine apparently plans to retire after the fight.
And remember, there’s no such thing as too much sport!
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