Anthony Mundine plans to unleash his inner mongrel and killer instinct for his do-or-die contest with hard punching Sergey Rabchenko.
Knocked down five times in his last fight loss to Joshua Clottey, Mundine has worked on his defence for his November 12 bout with the WBC Silver light welterweight belt holder at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena.
A win over Rabchenko from Belarus could potentially propel the 39-year-old Australian into a mandatory challenge against WBC super welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather – the opponent he wants the most.
A loss would shatter that dream and possibly his boxing career – but Mundine wasn’t contemplating that scenario on Saturday.
He said while he was always physically fit, he didn’t mentally turn up for the bout against Clottey.
Mundine was confident he had eradicated the uncharacteristic errors that marred his performance against Clottey.
“I’ve got to get that bit of mongrel in me and the will to win and that want to win,” Mundine told AAP.
“That last fight, I wasn’t there mentally, as far as having that eye of the tiger.
“If I have that, not many people can beat me.
“You can still be classy and still be skilled, but you need to have that killer in you and I’ve got it in me, I’ve just got to bring it out.
“I want to show him that he’s not going to bully me, I’m going to beat him with skill, I’m going to beat him in every department.”
Mundine said Rabchenko’s danger punches were the left hook and left rip.
However, he wasn’t fussed about the punching power possessed by his opponent, having fought men two divisions higher.
“I’ve fought the biggest punchers in a bigger weight division, (super middleweights) Mikkel Kessler, Danny Green, Antwun Echols, I’ve fought guys that can punch,” Mundine said.
“It’s alright to know you can punch, but you’ve got to hit the target.
“That last time (against Clottey) must have been a blessing in disguise, because I was doing things and getting caught with things I never get caught with.
“I’ve rectified all that, fixed that, I’m (going to be) a lot more defensively sound in this fight.”
Asked about his underdog status for the fight, Mundine said: “that’s even better, because when I win, it’s more glory to me.”
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Nikita Tszyu has overcome a nasty mid-fight moment to score a unanimous points win over Danilo Creati and retain his Australian super welterweight title…
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
