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The publicity machine surrounding the Anthony Mundine-Daniel Geale fight is going into overdrive, but is this all a smokescreen? Are Aussie boxing fans being taken for a ride again?
Anthony Mundine’s fraud over local fight fans is well known. Main Event, at the behest of promoters, charges pubs in this country more to broadcast a Mundine fight than it does a Floyd Mayweather Jr bout.
No guess who is the greater, more talented, more decorated and more popular boxer of the two. And no wonder why so few pubs now no longer show boxing.
Boxing supporters in Australia have gotten used to being served up crap. Of our fighters taking on bums and stiffs to protect their careers and beef up their inflated records.
For example, look at Mundine’s last fight against 41-year old Bronco McKart. A farcical event.
‘The Man’ has faced his fair share of nobody opponents, like Xavier Toliver, Carlos Adan Jerez, Alejandro Gustavo Falliga and others. Hardly the calibre of fighters to trouble Australia’s self-claimed “greatest ever athlete”.
But in fairness to Mundine, he is not alone. Pretty much all of our top boxers are doing it.
Danny Green took on Danny Santiago and the damaged Paul Briggs. These were not contests. But they were drummed up to sell lots of tickets and pay-per-view buys. They made a lot of money.
Daniel Geale is no motormouth – but even he has had some safe fights, including a bout against Eromosele Albert.
Fight fans are crying out for genuine clashes, real wars with real titles on the line.
Mundine ducked his last real opponent in Austin Trout in a WBA title match. Trout has since go on to face much bigger and better opponents including Miguel Cotto.
For Mundine, Geale is his best shot. He can make a ton of money and possibly capture Geale’s IBF middleweight crown, and with it some credibility. The chance for proper fights, not dressed-up wannabe contests, will increase if beats the Tasmanian.
For Geale, Mundine is a money-spinner and little else. Yes, he can avenge his only professional loss. But greater fights and greater opponents are out there. Take Sergio Martinez, or Gennady Golovkin.
Martinez is the WBC middleweight champ and an Argentine legend. Golovkin is the undefeated 30-year old Kazakh who holds the WBA and IBO middleweight belts. He is the man Geale declined to fight to face Mundine.
Mundine vs Geale should be a decent fight. Putting all the hype and hyperbole aside, it should be an actual contest. But is it the best fight we’ve had in this country in years? Doubtful. Is it the biggest fight ever staged in Australia? No way.
For that, look at Jack Johnson vs Tommy Burns in 1908 for the world heavyweight title.
But that’s what we are being told and being sold. And I’ve had a gutful.
Aussie lovers of the sweet science want to see our fighters taking on the best the world has to be offer. We want to see our best and brightest battling for world titles, not trumped belts or washed-up opponents.
You only need to look at someone like Michael Katsidis, who has rumbled with the best, not always won but never backed down, to see what boxing can potentially be: Wars in the ring.
So let’s enjoy Mundine vs Geale and let’s see a real contest. But let’s also get some perspective and not lose our heads – there are bigger fish and bigger fights out there, the ones that most boxing fans really want to see.
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