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.”
Kalbo
Guest
Why doesn't he look to fight Pacquio, he is only north of Australia, and Im sure he would make a decent purse in Philippines, they would luv to see Manny finish him off inside 3 rounds. Then he will know if he is good enough to go to US and fight underdogs. Hell, my grandfather is scared to come out of retirment in case Mundine wants to fight him. :) He is a joke.
jaime
Guest
I love to see choc fights mayweather but before that you have to pass through a few mexicans, puerto ricans or even just manny pacquiao.
mundine a joke
Guest
what a joke mundine is ducking and dodging, the day he days face a credible his glass jaw will shatter
Mick
Guest
Give mundine a break he wanted trout but he priced himself out of the fight because he knew he would lose I wonder how much he Got 4 his last fight? Cant wait 2 see mundine in action in us Would like 2 see some aussie fighters on undercard
im the man
Guest
i think danny green definitely took on far better opponents than choc and i personally think danny did make 1-2 bad fight calls.but he did put on some good fights and fought some class fighters b4 the end of his career.mundine didnt put a purse bid in to fight trout who fought on show time card on saturday where antonio tarver/winky wright/ austin trout who are all champs fought on the same fight card.so if he wanted exposure and wanted to impress that was his only chance which is now gone.hell fight mckart get two bucks for it clame he wants mayweather but comes back here and danny green and him self will cash in on a rematch and both retire...danny would win at his weight mundine couldnt bust a grape with his punches and has glass jaw..
Mark Ortega
Guest
Thanks for including me in this article, Andrew. I have long followed Mundine peripherally from the United States. It is amazing to remember the days when live streams weren't available, and I followed Mundine against Daniel Geale via round-by-rounds before getting a copy of the fight about a week later. I thought Mundine lost that fight, and it is crazy to me that guys like Katsidis and Geale and Paul Briggs have flown under the radar while Mundine and Danny Green got all of the spotlight on very little merit. Once it became obvious Mundine was not going to face any serious challenges and would chase the cash for as long as he could before getting a cashout fight, I stopped caring. What Mundine still brings to the table is a heel persona, much like Hector Camacho. Camacho was worn out as a fighter late in his career, but people wanted to see him get knocked out so they continually went to see him for quite awhile before that circus act wore out its welcome. Will that be the way Mundine goes out?
jules
Guest
have followed choc for years defended him always but now over it after the green fight he should of gone straight to the states he was in his prime but no stayed and fought mostly no bodies he will go down in history as australias biggest wasted talent
ur the man?
Guest
Mundine and Green both are bad for australian boxing. fighting no bodys and has beens. good on them for getting in there and fighting. i doubt the guy who wrote this article has done that or most ppl who comment on this stuff. but he should of fought trout and then he would of had something to put out there (world title) if he won. but good luck to him, making a lil bit of money and having some fun!
Andrew Potter
Roar Guru
Floyd's only been fighting every 8-12 months anyway recently and he's only in jail for 90 odd days so I doubt he will need a tune up fight.
Droppa
Guest
Anyone who saw Mundine 's knockdown by Crazy Kim will know what Choc's main problem is.As for fighting in the states,The morning of the 9/11 terrorist attack Mundine said live on Australian tv "They brought it on themselves" or have we all forgotten that ? you can bet the Americans haven't,ESPN wouldn't even mention his name.he became persona non grata,now its even worse because no one cares anymore.Anthony said the other day he's better than Floyd & it didn't even rate a giggle,nobody cares anymore..its over .mabye he could switch to golf & become better than tiger.,
Shaun
Guest
It's not all necessarily doom & gloom for mundine. He could still take on mayweather- if just for 1 reason. The reason being that mayweather may want a warm-up fight once he leaves prison before he takes on any bigger fish such as pacman. Mundine may be that lucky warm-up. I highly doubt mayweather will rush out of prison to instantly take on the big names. Plus, mundine could attract a massive american market if he is marketed to them with references to 9/11 he made. Many would pay just to watch him get KOd. They could even market the fight as mayweathers redemption against a villain. Of course not so directly, but i think you get the idea.
Andrew Potter
Roar Guru
Thanks for the feedback, I think that a lot of Australian's would be happy to support him if he made an effort to fight the best, but it's a kick in the arse when he signs fights against the likes of McKart.
D-Train
Guest
Good article. I think it's fair and balanced and basically states the facts without sounding pro or anti Mundine.