Anthony Mundine reckons he was robbed after losing his decade-in-the-making rematch with Danny Green on Friday night at Adelaide Oval.
The match was ultimately decided on points with Green the victor, coming as a surprise to many fans who felt that Mundine had been the better performer during the fight.
Mundine, never one to accept the judges’ decision without comment, spoke out after the fight about his belief that he was the real winner.
“I thought I won that fight and it’s 2-0… I deserved it,” said Mundine.
“But history will tell a different story.
“People know in their hearts… they know who was the better man.”
It was certainly seen as a close fight at the least, but one judge believed it swung heavily in favour of Green. The scores from the three judges were 94-94, 96-94 and 98-90.
Few other pundits appear to be agreeing with that 98-90 assessment, and it will no doubt be one of the talking points of the match as it is remembered in years to come.
In a night that had no shortage of controversy, one of the most notable pieces was that the judge scoring 96-94 gave Green a full 10 points in a round where he was to be penalised for elbowing.
Someone who knows boxing scoring please explain how Green scores 10 in a round he was deducted a point? #MundineGreen2 @Anthony_Mundine pic.twitter.com/7cHLR7lCYD
— Jai Bednall (@jaibednall) February 3, 2017
In the end, it’s no surprise that Mundine feels he was the more deserving fighter of the two, and perhaps he is right.
No doubt that will remain the opinion of many boxing fans who watched the fight going forward as well.
“What do you do … when you give a performance like that, I had him beat up, I had him bleeding, his eyes were puffy,” Mundine said.
“I still won the fight hands down … they robbed me.
“I know I won it. He (Green) knows I won it. That is what makes it so tough.”
Mundine won his first and only other fight against Green in 2006.