Like a carnival spruiker, Anthony Mundine is ensuring his upcoming middleweight title fight with Daniel Geale is receiving more attention than it would have had he kept his mouth shut.
‘Anthony Mundine’ and ‘mouth shut’ are not two terms that even peripheral sports fans would associate with each other, but the fact is Mundine has done his darndest to make sure this boxing match generates more interest than almost any in the sport’s recent history in Australia.
Had he been as quiet and as measured as his opponent, the January 30th fight would have played out no differently (and this is being written before the fight happens) but you can rest assured less people would have been interested in it.
This is the inevitable showmanship aspect of boxing, itself lifted straight off the storyboards of professional wrestling, which has to provide a convincing story to its contests given they are not ‘contests’ at all.
Muhummad Ali often cited 1950s professional wrestler ‘Gorgeous’ George Wagner as his inspiration for hyping a big fight.
George Wagner was a solid mid-card wrestler in the 1940s before coming up with an outrageous alter-ego who infuriated crowds and gained nationwide attention in the then-early days of television in the United States.
Ali met the 46 year old Wagner in Las Vegas when he was just 19. Ali has been quoted as saying George gave him a piece of advice he carried with him in his ring career:
“A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth. So keep on bragging, keep on sassing and always be outrageous.”
In talent and stature, Anthony Mundine is no Muhummad Ali but he is clever enough and brave enough to realise there is money to be made in being the bad guy, or the ‘heel’, as it is known in wrestling.
What he doesn’t have is a scripted outcome to work with.
So while his bravado and insults outrage many, he puts himself under massive pressure to perform in front of crowds who usually pay to see someone shut his mouth. He may well have fought ‘tomato cans’ in his most recent fights, but Daniel Geale is the IBF Middleweight champion and is probably the sternest test Mundine has faced in his career.
Mundine has even found time to engage in a feud with journalist Paul Kent in the lead-up to the bout, lest any sporting pages reader still didn’t know the fight was on. Kent obliged by writing up details of their most recent exchange at a pre-fight press conference.
Mundine the publicity machine had struck again.
Kent takes a dim view of Mundine’s place in Australian boxing and bemoans the state of the sport as a whole in this country. But while bouts like Sonny Bill Williams versus Frans Botha are shams of the highest order, Geale-Mundine II is one of the most anticipated fights in recent boxing history.
It wouldn’t have worked if Geale had been as flamboyant and polarising as Mundine. His no-nonsense demeanour and attitude is the perfect foil for Mundine and he knows his role just as well as Mundine does.
It is the ‘good versus bad’ storyline of combat sports writ large and has given even casual fans an investment in the outcome of the fight.
Mundine has taken the Gorgeous George mantra – “keep on bragging and keep on sassing” – all the way to the ring for his showdown with Geale. It has won him few friends but it takes a brave man to assume the weight of the villain in a real sports contest, especially when a pugilist as talented as Daniel Geale stands in the opposite corner.
apaway
Roar Guru
AR I think he's one of the best self-promoters in sport.
apaway
Roar Guru
Valleys There was never any comparison in this article between Anthony Mundine and Muhummad Ali, only that Ali learned the way to work a crowd from Gorgeous George.
Sash
Guest
Mundine will silence critics with KO !
Australian Rules
Guest
"How was he a complete tool when he played league?" Well, for one, playing the race card to explain why he wasn't selected for Australian rep honours. Now in boxing, he seems to play the race card more than ever. He says he fights for his people, but then bags his people at every opportunity.
sledgeross
Guest
Sponsers? Bums on seats? Yes, he gets sponsors for fights, but not personally, he only gets bums on seats off the back of the OTHER boxers he fights against ie Green, Geale.
Jocelyn
Guest
Spot on...the whole Mundine bad boy image is one that has been carefully manufactured by his very clever management team since he stepped off the Rugby pitch and into the ring...be creating a siege/hate mentality against him it has elevated all his bouts to levels of media coverage perhaps not possible if he shows his true down to earth caring personality ( he does a lot of work behind the scenes for underprivelaged children) Mundine's is one the most succesful PR campaigns in history. Just look how much debate this article alone has created? that equates to sponsors, and backsides on seats equals money in his and his managements pockets. Every word he says is orchestrated to get people taking notice of him. Game Set and Match to Mundine. Everyone has taken the bait.
The Greatest Game Of All
Guest
You imply that he is a complete idiot, He's not. The evidence, his actions and words, suggest its a bit of both. How was he a complete tool when he played league? You wouldnt be generalising would you? guessing? assuming? Its important to remember, Mundine's had every one of his fights on PPV, the only fighter in history, not the work of a complete idiot.
Australian Rules
Guest
apaway, you imply that Mundine is some shrewd puppetmaster of media promotion. He's not. It's important to remeber, he was also a complete tool when he played league. The only difference now is that a) he's no longer in a team sport, so he can put his self-hyping into overdrive; and b) as you correctly say, boxing thrives on the face-v-heel dynamic, so it's "works" in terms of creating interest.
Sash
Guest
Mundine will KO Geale tonight !
Damien
Roar Guru
Islamic masters from SW Sydney ? Sounds like you and Choc have been reading from the same playbook..
Valleys Diehard from Brunswick st.
Roar Rookie
It's impossible to compare Ali with Mundine. There is too great a gulf in class and achievement. Ali never disrespected a mans family or achieved the infamy that Mundine is so desperate to maintain. Ali never had to lie about his achievements. Mundine is the man Australia loves to hate because he is a fraud. He will never be remembered as a pugilist, he will be remembered as an idiot who served his Islamic masters from SW Sydney. He deserves no respect, no honour or title. Geale will win, and afterward Mundine will be just another idiot from Sydney the rest of the nation had to endure.