Man versus Machine
 By Anthony Cocks, (May 16, 2006)
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Photo © Will Hart/HBO-PPV
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In what promises to be the highest grossing fight in Australian boxing history Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine and Danny ‘The Green Machine’ Green will finally step into the ring tomorrow night at Aussie Stadium in Sydney to determine once and for who is the best super middleweight in the country.
After five years of public feuding it will all come to a head tomorrow night. Bragging right will be determined in 47 minutes or less. Vast sums of money will be made and even more will be lost. And while some people have said the real winners will be the fans, the only guaranteed winners will be the bookies.
Although some fans have bemoaned the fact that the fight didn’t take place sooner, there’s little doubt that every pub showing the event will be packed to the rafters with vociferous fans cheering on either Green to shut the mouth of ‘The Man’ or screaming for Mundine to prove his critics wrong.
In Australia, as in many countries, boxing is the red-headed stepchild of the sporting world. Yet despite this fact the Green-Mundine rivalry has not only transcended boxing, but even sport itself. In offices throughout the country water cooler banter is focused on who will win and why. For better or worse, it is the fight that everyone has an opinion on. And by tomorrow night, everyone will be an expert.
Not since Barry Michael’s mugging heavily favoured young gun Lester Ellis for the IBF junior lightweight title almost 21 years ago has a fight captured the public imagination the way Green versus Mundine has. Tomorrow night, boxing fans will be both won and lost.
Man versus Machine. What a perfect tagline.
Somewhat surprisingly bookmakers installed Mundine as the early favourite to the tune of $1.70 when they framed the market, while Green sat tight at $2.10. The odds remained virtually unchanged until late last week when Mundine began to drift and Green began to shorten. With less than 24 hours until the first bell the bookies can’t split them.
The fact remains that this fight is the classic match-up of boxer versus brawler, speed versus power, matador versus bull. And anyone who claims that it’s easy to determine the winner of this bout either knows nothing about boxing, is listening to their heart over their head, or is clearly insane.
With this in mind Doghouse Boxing took the time to speak to two men who are in a unique position to offer some perspective into this intriguing match-up.
Light heavyweight contender Paul ‘Hurricane’ Briggs sparred Mundine three times early on his preparation, while middleweight contender Sam ‘King’ Soliman worked extensively with Green in the latter part of his training camp.
“It just comes down to how they fight the fight and who brings the best game plan and stay with their game plan,” said Briggs, who sparred 18 rounds with Mundine. “It’s a really interesting fight from that standpoint.
“It just depends how Choc handles Danny’s pressure in the later rounds as well.”
From Green’s perspective pressure is precisely the key. His ability to cut off the ring and force exchanges will determine his success. With highly credentialed Thai-based Cuban Ismael Salas in his corner Green is certain to not only be well prepared for a grueling twelve round war, but also to have a clearly defined gameplan against the fast and elusive Mundine.
If Green chips away in the early rounds and keeps Mundine thinking and moving, the fight will be there for the taking in the championship rounds. But that’s a big ‘if’ and if Mundine can control the action in the early going and frustrate Green then we may well see a very one-sided bout.
In what is essentially a 50-50 match-up, Soliman is equally as hesitant about tipping a winner.
“They’re both going really well and from what I hear they’ve both been training the house down,” said Soliman, who lost a contentious decision to Mundine back in 2001.
“The winner on the night will be the one who has done all their homework.”
Soliman, who by his own estimate has sparred 50 rounds with Green for this preparation, rates the Sydney-based Perth fighter as the one of the best fighters he’s ever faced in the gym.
“Danny has always been good at cutting off the ring,” said the notoriously elusive Soliman. “He’s the only one who can cut off the ring effectively with me and he can do it with anyone.”
Much has been made of the fact that Green has appeared to have slipped since he won the WBC interim title from Eric Lucas back in 2003, but Soliman says that Green’s gym form bodes well for him tomorrow night.
“He’s pretty much going to be the same man he was when he fought Beyer the first time,” said Soliman. “I think that’s what you’ll see from Green provided he stays on his game.
“But I’m sure Anthony has been training hard for it too and he’ll be doing the same.”
And this right here is the dilemma. Both boxers’ strengths are offset by their weaknesses and the winner will be determined by the man who is more effective at imposing their will on their opponent.
“It’s hard to pick a winner, very hard,” admitted Soliman. “It’s the man who’s done his homework who will win this fight in the end. Not who has trained the hardest because they’ve both trained hard; it will come down to the man who has the better mental discipline that will make all the difference.”
Mundine, a former rugby league star who once commanded the highest pay packet in the competition, lacks nothing for confidence. If he gets out the gates fast and establishes an early lead he’ll be a hard man to stop. But like all confidence fighters there are question marks about his ability to deal with adversity both in a mental and physical sense.
Against Manny Siaca, Mundine went into his shell after being decked in the second round. But in his second world title challenge against Danish behemoth Mikkel Kessler last year Mundine made many fans in a losing effort by standing his ground at times with an opponent who for all intents and purposes appeared two divisions heavier.
And that right there is the enigma of Anthony Mundine.
“It’s one of those fights that they both have the ability to win,” continued Soliman. “It’s going to come down to the little advantages they have. They are both so even in many departments that if one of them has made a mistake in their training then the fight’s over.”
The betting money says that the most likely outcome is either a Green KO or a Mundine decision. But it’s hard to envisage a situation where Green can hit Mundine clean enough and often enough to turn his lights out.
“I believe that Danny is the harder puncher of the two,” said Soliman. “And being the harder puncher he’ll give Mundine a difficult time in that category. But Mundine is quick and evasive and I think that’s going to make it difficult for him to get a knockout during the twelve rounds. So if Mundine’s not 100% fit to box and move for twelve rounds, Danny will cut the ring off within twelve rounds and finish him.”
The feeling here is that if Mundine gets off to a blindingly fast start he could run away with the fight. But if Green can maintain the pressure and chip away at Mundine with particular emphasis on the body attack, it will pay dividends as the fight wears on.
Either way the fight promises to be a barnburner, with the winner getting a crack at Kessler’s WBA title while the loser can please himself.
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