Anthony Mundine: “I’m the Pretty Boy Floyd of the super middleweight division”


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Anthony Mundine: “I’m the Pretty Boy Floyd of the super middleweight division”

Interview by Anthony Cocks (Jan 17, 2008) Doghouse Boxing

Anthony Mundine, 30-3 (23), is set to make the third defence of his WBA super middleweight title against veteran Nader Hamdan, 40-5 (18), on February 27th at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia.

Mundine, who is ranked number three by the highly respected Ring magazine in the 168-pound division behind Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler, will be looking to take no prisoners as he faces his toughest opponent since outboxing domestic rival Danny Green in 2006.

Seven weeks out from the fight, Mundine took the time to speak to Doghouse Boxing about his upcoming bout, the future of the super middleweight division, and the chance of a second go round with newly minted WBA light heavyweight titleholder Green. Read on to see what one of the most outspoken athletes in the sport had to say.

Anthony Cocks: You’ve got Nader Hamdan on February 27th. What does Nader bring to the table as an opponent and what do you see as his greatest weapon?

Anthony Mundine: I think what he brings to the table is a lot of heart, a lot of soul. He’s been waiting for this his whole life and to get the opportunity against someone like me, who is probably the best pound-for-pound fighter nationally, he’s going to bring his A-game and try to prove his worth. His best weapon will probably be his will.

AC: Now Nader been around for a long time, he’s had forty-five fights over a ten year period. His losses have only really come against top flight opposition, a lot of the time when he has been a little bit under prepared due to short notice. How do you think he compares to some of your tougher opponents?

AM: He is very similar to Soliman as far as workrate and determination, willingness and stuff like that. But overall I just need to be ready, mentally and physically. I really feel that I’m starting to get on top of my game now and it’s going to be hard for him to see it through twelve.

AC: You’ve known Nader for some years, you knocked around in similar circles as young blokes. What kind of difference will it make fighting someone you consider to be a mate?

AM: We weren’t really close friends or anything like that. I suppose we’re more acquaintances that have known each other for a long time. We had mutual friends but we never really did hit it off with each other. In saying that, I told him that I didn’t want the fight on a number of occasions. He came to me two or three times and I said ‘Mate, I don’t want to make it complicated as far as our fans.’ He goes ‘No, the fans don’t see it like that. You’re giving me the opportunity to fight for a title and you’re giving me a payout to go with it.’ I think he was saying the people will see that. And he kept coming to me and I saw his persistence and I said ‘Okay, we’ll do a deal’.

I can’t Nader for granted. I prepare for every fight like my last fight, I’m coming in as a challenger. He’s got everything to gain and nothing to lose. I’ve got everything to lose and for me to be the best of the best, I can’t lose from here on in.

AC: Your preparation for this fight… Do you stick to the same prep for every fight or do you tailor that to whatever opponent you’re facing?

AM: It’ll be pretty similar, it’ll be a tough preparation. Right now I’m still building up my fitness and won’t start sparring until this week, so about six weeks, six-and-a-half weeks out I’ll start sparring, hopefully get up to 100-120 rounds, and that should keep me in good stead for anything he throws on the night.

AC: Who are you looking at using for sparring partners?

AM: I’ll probably have Ercument Aslan, a middleweight and former world rated junior amateur champ. There’s a few sparring partners I normally I use a lot, but I probably might add one or two for this fight just to get guys that are sort of tall and rangy with long arms to get used to that.

AC: After you won the vacant WBA title against Sam Soliman in March last year you fought another two times. There was a bit of criticism leveled at you about your choice of opponents. How do respond to criticism of these matchups?

AM: I really feel that the general boxing fans and the journalists are starting to give me my props. They are starting realize that all my fights are going to be mismatches. They said Danny Green was going to be a tough fight, they said that Sam Soliman was going to be a tough fight, so they’re all going to be mismatches. As long as I’m right, as long as I prepare right, ain’t no-one can stand with me.

AC: There certainly seems to be an expectation on modern boxers that every fight has to be a big fight, whereas in the past champions would take non-title fights to stay busy, which is something that I think is underappreciated in the modern game. You certainly like stay busy and stay in the ring, which in my opinion should be applauded.

AM: The fights they’re talking about, the bigger fights and I suppose the more marketable fights, they are a lot tougher to negotiate and deal with. And that can take six months sometimes. I’m not going to sit around, I’m going to have optional defences, I want to have as many as I can. As you’ve seen in the past in boxing, they had optional defences like I’m doing now with Nader, and some of the guys that came through became champions on a number of occasions. I can’t sit here just resting on my laurels, I’ve got to work hard, I’ve got to stay in shape, stay at the top of my game. And whoever comes in, whoever I face, they’re just going to be dominated. One by one, they’re gunna to go.

AC: At the press conference to announce this fight you produced a chicken and named it Danny Green. Realistically what are the chances of a rematch between you two coming off and how do you think you’ll perform at the higher weight limit?

AM: Well first of all that’s why I got the chicken out ‘cos he’s running from me. I told you the first fight was going to happen and it was a mismatch. And this fight, God willing it happens again, is going to be a mismatch. It doesn’t matter what weight we fight, we can fight at heavyweight and I’d still destroy him. Last time I destroyed him, this time he won’t last twelve. I’ll put the peddle down, you know what I mean?

AC: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans or the boxing public in general?

AM: To my fans, stay real, keep it real for me. We’ve got a big year in 2008 and we’ll definitely be having a big year in 2009. I’m looking to fight the best of the best. I hear Calzaghe is fighting Hopkins, I want to fight the best of the best. The Calzaghes, the Jermain Taylors, Kelly Pavlik, all these guys. I feel that I’m in their league, so not only can I match ‘em, I can beat ’em. I really feel that I’m the Pretty Boy Floyd of the super middleweight division.

AC: Alright Choc, thanks for your time. Best of luck with your preparation for the Nader fight, it’s certainly one that I’m looking forward to.

AM: No worries champ.