When Anthony Mundine announced his new opponent last week, the Australian boxing public once again needing to ask who is Bronco McKart?
Mundine thinks the 41 year old American who was a one time WBC world champion 16 years ago is a part of the stepping stone to fighting one of the best P4P fighters on the planet, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.
“I had to jump at the opportunity, I can’t knock back a main event,” said Mundine.
“I’m going for Mayweather, that’s what I want. I’m just going to keep beating whoever they put in front of me until I get him. I want the chance to see what I can do against him.”
While the rest of the population now know that McKart is a 41 year old Southpaw from Michigan, USA who is well past his prime.
Yes, McKart has fought for world titles and he has won one, but it has been 8 years since he last fought for a legitimate title, and 16 years since he won the vacant WBO Light Middleweight title against Santos Cardona who came into the fight having lost 3 of his previous 4 fights.
And what has McKart done since then?
McKart who is nicknamed ‘Superman’ has fought just five times since 2008 which included a year lay off and a loss to former Middleweight title contender, Roman Karmazin.
Yes, McKart might have been a credible opponent in his prime, and it does give Mundine a chance to fight in the home of boxing, Las Vegas but will it make the likes of Floyd Mayweather notice?
I seriously doubt that ‘Money’ Mayweather even knows who Mundine is.
The exposure Mundine is getting from fighting on a Wealth TV PPV in the States won’t make the 37 year old a house hold name in a country which he claimed brought on the 9/11 terrorist attacks themselves.
HBO which reaches 33.2 million subscribers in the US is known as the home for all the big fights in the States and is also the second largest premium network in America. Fights on HBO draw on average 1.4 million viewers and are televised in many different countries worldwide.
Compare that to Wealth TV which is available on the Verizon Digital Network that has a reach of 15 million homes. The total reach of Wealth TV is even lower then the number of people who subscribe to HBO and with previous boxing events failing to hit the mark on the network it doesn’t look good for Mundine.
There’s more. The fight is only available on PPV in the States. Who is going to pay $30+ to watch Mundine fight McKart, when at the same time they could be watching Amir Khan take on Danny Garcia for free on HBO?
Mark Ortega a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America remembers McKart as someone who never fully lived up to his true potential.
“Aside from the Winky Wright trilogy, McKart has largely served as a gatekeeper for fighters on their way up and has definitely participated in his share of exciting fights, though at 41 his action style has faded a bit,” stated Ortega.
“Fighting McKart will not further Mundine towards any big fight because he isn’t really even a gatekeeper anymore. He isn’t even a name to build your record on. It is sad that Mundine is going down this route rather than fighting Austin Trout.”
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.
"It's f--king heartbreaking."
Nina Hughes thought she'd claimed victory after the announcer read her name out - but he'd got it wrong!
Australian Andrew Moloney has announced his shock retirement after suffering a controversial loss to Mexico's Pedro Guevara in their WBC interim junior bantamweight world…
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…
