Mundine's antics are just too much

mundine needs to sit down and actually have alook at himself , when he first started boxing , i backed him to the hilt , having to cop plenty off the others watching his fights at the pub, but i have to admitt i have gone right off him , he appears to promote racism , sure there are many racist people , no matter what breed , but myself and many others i know were brought up around aboriginal people , and we are not racist ,we stayed at their place the same as they stayed at ours , As for the geale fight , well sure , it could have gone either way, but the fact that Daniel was the champion , and fought like a champion , he should have retained the title , there was no dirty tactics from him ,. Agreeing with the other comment , have a listen to all mundine fights in australia , the same commentator speaks him up like he is legend status. It really is a shame , because like him or dislike him , he is a pretty good fighter.

Anthony has often complained that we , the general publc are racist. I recall another loud -mouth, Rocky Gatellari. The entire Australian public cheered as Lionel Rose shut the mouth quite savagely, no racial prejudice. just a fair dinkum guy doing his job. Rocky then had the audacity to make a comeback and took a dive (and the money). SO MUCH FOR BIG MOUTHS.

You think Mundine has it tough - Ali was vilified in the U.S - he converted to Islam and he could not fight for 3 years because he refused to serve in Vietnam or as he so eloquently put it "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ... They never called me nigger." Now everything is forgiven and he is treated like a national icon. Then again, I would hate to think what would have happened to him in Bush's America

If Mundine had been in the US when he made those comments, I daresay they would have shipped him off to Guantanamo Bay as quickly as you can say "luv yers all" (when his greatest crime would have been failing to express himself properly). Doesn't India alone have about 20% of the World's population?

Very enlightening, I'm glad he has a "real side" and achieved so much for his community. He lost me as asupporter with his post 911 comments, even if it was just about raising his profile. I hope he understands the privilege it is to be able to speak your mind with out fear in a democracy, something only about 20% of the world population can do.

Sportsmouth is the man on this thread - good post

Doesn't drink. Doesn't smoke. Doesn't do drugs. Gave up a highly paid job (rugby league) to fulfil his dream job (how many of us can say that?!) Steps into the square circle to face his opponents and half the country who want to see him knocked out, but continues to raise the profile of his sport. Has given back more to the community then all of us here judging him. I'd say very few of us have the right to judge him unless you've done at least half of what he did, regardless of success or failure!

Robbos - but you expect more support for a mouthy koori muslim than for a bogan ?? C'mon you're talking about a country that's only just come to realise it needed to say Sorry. I'm from NZ whch is about 20 yrs ahead of Australia in recognising what was done even 50 yrs ago was wrong & asttempting to resolve the subsequent issues (higher unemployment/convictions/mortality/ etc) & my parents generation still struggle with the concept of maori politicians & political parties. You're seriously expecting Australia to be ready for mundine ? look at what Ali had to do to be accepted - retire !

What comes out of Mundine's mouth also makes me cringe & I'm a fan of his ability, but, what I'm harping about is there are Australian sportsman that are morally least deserving of our adulation, but you don't hear the media go on about them. Yet they go headstrong against a brash, lippy, confident, controversial, but morally correct young man (non drinker, no drug taker, respectful to women).

OK people, I'll have one more post and then leave it alone. In my opinion, Mundine is * an exceptionally gifted athlete. I'm sure he could have succeeded in any number of other sports. * someone who has achieved great successes, as much through hard work as through natural talent. * extremely generous with his time and resources when it comes to those less fortunate than himself. * a great role model for young aboriginal boys/men. * a fairly ordinary attempt to be a showman. Frankly, I don't think he has the personality to pull it off. He should leave it to those that have. * i have no basis for saying this, but I think he is probably poorly advised, in terms of PR, by those around him. That's about as balanced as I can be, but I will always support a humble gentleman such as Daniel Geale against a brash, vain loud-mouth like Anthony Mundine any day of the week.

you sure are a disgusted man Wally, especially when the topic relates to aboriginal men so i'll clarify for you since you clearly didn't understand the context of the comment in my post. Mundine is a better role model for young aboriginal men than the many poor influences they currently have. i'd be prepared to accept your outright dislike without criticism as your right to have & express an opinion except that you seem to believe that the same right shouldn't apply to those you dislike. as for the top class athlete bit, what exactly is your stringent criteria ? boxing has it's fair share of alphabet titles but go tell a boxer that his isn't worth all the effort put in, so at this point Mundine is a multiple world title holder in two weight classes & also a former NSW State of Origin rep which in itself would be quite admirable. align this with his award as Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander of the year in 2000 & numerous Deadly Award wins in sporting categories adds up to a fairly decent bloke as well as athlete. perhaps the problem here is that you don't rate boxing as a sport & would prefer to have aboriginal men who were seen but not heard ? i won't go any further down that path Wally but your comments about his lack of class when representing his country betrays the fact that you seem to think that you are the country rather than the multitude of different people & attitudes that exist in our great land. i'm still not sure that you aren't just a shit stirrer because thus far your argument on Mundine's character & athletic ability is based on your dislike of his personal style & the fact that he is not someone else, John Eales for example, & that means he is a poor example to children & a poor representative of his country.

Mundine's problems as a footballer explain why he took up an individual sport like boxing. As a rugby league player, Mundine was exceptionally gifted, with terrific skills, good vision, anticipation & a box of tricks, but he far too often ran away from his supports, or failed to use them effectively. Rugby league being a team sport, Mundine struggled to fit into the team game. Maybe as a junior, he was able to win matches on his own. But when he got to the senior ranks, he still struggled to use his supports effectively. All great players must still be able to have a style of game that allows teammates to be part of the picture/plan. I agree with Chop that he failed to win NSW SOO selection probably because of this, & certainly not because of race.

I don't know Mundine, I respect the bloke for what he does in his community and what he's achieved as a sportsman, but his carry-on just makes me want to cheer for who ever he's against. I can still remember the fact that he played the race card after being beaten out of the NSW state of origin team by two players named Daley and Fittler. As a footballer he was ok, but he was not up to that standard and wasn't picked because he was not up to that standard regardless of race.

Leftie, Mundine was humble & generous to Geale after their fight, firstly embracing him in the ring with a "very well done", & visiting his dressing room afterwards to offer more condolences & encouragement. For all of Mundine's showmanship faults, the two gestures mentioned above indicate C-L-A-S-S.

Manny Pacquiao should fight Mundine.

As said in Sundays press, if he behaved better and was less confrontational, he would be earning three times what he is currently, $2m p.a. Just look at that british boxer of the 90's Prince Naseem Hamed. A real show off but he could really back it up. But he used to deride his opponents, until Barrera beat him. Prince didnt seek a rematch!

sheek nice balance.

Hugh Jarse, Love your moniker, especially when you say it quickly!

Sheek - also consider when Tzyu fought in Melb it was a to give him a shot at his first title & it was to a 1/2 empty stadium, yes the promotion was rubbish (I had to search hard to find one ad), but if Mundine came down here we'd sure know he was in town & I'm pretty sure he'd get a sellout crowd even if 1/2 of them only wanted to see him shut up. Ali was the same, early in his career he learnt from watching a pro wrestler self promote a bout & get a sell out crowd to a 'show' when the cometing title bout had plenty of empty seats. He then decided to grow his self advertising ability. Bill - perfectly put, he's done well but he's no Tzyu (yet).

To be the best you have to beat the best. Mundine has fought outside Australia only twice. His win in Canada against journey man figher Kevin Pompey in 2001 was followed up by a knock out loss to Ottke in Germany a few months later. When Mundine did fight a true champion in Mikkal Kessler he was beaten badly on points. Until Mundine beat a true world champion (no disrespect intended of Daniel Geale) I will reserve my judgement of his boxing ability.