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Mundine outburst to cost him dearly
Grantlee Kieza in Sydney
23oct01
ANTHONY Mundine's outrageous comments yesterday about the American terrorist attacks may have cost him millions of dollars after he deeply offended some of the most senior officials in world boxing.
The German promoter of his December 1 world title fight said Mundine would now probably never get the chance to box in America where the big money resides. Speaking on national television yesterday, Mundine said America had brought terrorism on itself and that it was a fight for a just cause. Little did he know when he was shooting his mouth off that he was deeply offending the top brass of the International Boxing Federation and the promoters of his December 1 IBF title fight with Sven Ottke in Dortmund. Both organisations have said his comments are so offensive he will never get a fight in the US. Working at the World Trade Centre on September 11 was the son of the man who approved Mundine's world title bout, Joe Dwyer, a former New York detective who now works as the ratings chairman for the IBF. Dwyer, one of the most powerful men in the fight game, is the man who on the advice of Australia's IBF representative Ray Wheatley put Mundine into the world top 15 so he could qualify for a shot at Ottke. Dwyer's son was outside the World Trade Centre having a cigarette on September 11 when the first hijacked plane crashed in the worst terrorist attack in history, starting a killing spree that ended in 6000 deaths. At the IBF convention in Newark, New Jersey, last month, Dwyer tearfully spoke to the gathering of his son's lucky escape from the inferno. He was understood to be furious at Mundine's comments yesterday. "Mundine can forget about ever fighting in America," an IBF spokesman said yesterday. "We understand he's an extremely colourful fighter but saying something like that is deeply offensive to the American people and to the IBF who know people who were murdered by those madmen. "The crowds simply would not tolerate Mundine ever boxing in the United States now." When informed of Mundine's remarks yesterday, Eckhard Klein, the promoter of the December 1 world title fight with Ottke, was deeply shocked. "He said what?" Klein asked incredulously from his office in Cologne. "My goodness. Anthony would do better just to shut up."

After years out in the cold, pro boxing is staging a comeback from the backblocks to boardrooms. Susan Owens discovers the new profits and popularity of pugilism.
Anthony Mundine, Australia's undefeated Commonwealth super-middleweight champion, has challenged a German national hero, the graceful fighter Sven Ottke, as his opponent this weekend in his single-minded, if rapidly organised, quest for a world title.
When he steps into the ring in Dortmund, a cold, grey, industrial town in north-west Germany, he faces a man somewhat more exalted in his home country than Mundine is here.
Mundine made his biggest headlines both in Australia and in Germany not for his boxing skills but his brief stint as a political commentator in October, when he said that the United States had brought the September 11 terrorist attacks upon itself.
For this, he incurred the wrath of powerful international boxing bodies. The World Boxing Council (WBC) stripped him of his ranking; the International Boxing Association threatened the same should he repeat the utterings.
Mundine apologised, saying the statements were taken out of context, but the German fight promoter Eckhard Klein says that even if Mundine beats Ottke, the world will never respect him, and Mundine remains persona non grata with the US sports network

Nevertheless, he left Australia full of bravado, hectoring and mocking, saying: "I'll shock the world ... turn this Ottke character into a quivering mess."
Mundine's political faux pas is unlikely to reduce the number of people who'll watch the fight. This is an International Boxing Federation (IBF) world title fight and on planet boxing, you're at the top of the tree if you hold three titles from the world's governing bodies, of which the top three are the IBF, the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the WBC.
The highly respected Russian-born Australian professional boxer Kostya Tszyu has achieved this to become the super-lightweight champion of the world. Of the Mundine fight, he remarked: "His only victory would be if he could land a knockout punch."
Australia's representative on the IBF, Ray Wheatley, was matchmaker for the Mundine-Ottke fight, collecting $3,600 for his efforts. That sum represents a standard "sanction" fee, set by the IBF.
"It was handed to me in rolled-up $50 banknotes in a men's cubicle in the Whitlam Centre [in Liverpool] just before the Guy Waters match in October," Wheatley told the AFR. Unusual? "I thought so," he says.
Mundine beat Waters in that fight, his 10th as a professional, allowing him to springboard to the international ring.
This game is not cricket but arguably the sport of the underclass, where champs are known by their nicknames "The Man" (Mundine); "The Marrickville Mauler" (Jeff Fenech) and where even those on the professional circuit in Australia work at concreting, garbage runs and in timber yards by day and train in the gym by night.

That's all she wrote:

I was ringside for that fight surrounded by the Mundine family. Anthony looked good early but faded unfortunately

But what a tremedouseffortonly hi what 11th 12th figjt most can.t evwn win an ameteur state title in 12 fights

Jeff Fenech won world title in six fights so how good was that

raydoug wrote: ↑14 Dec 2020, 23:17 Jeff Fenech won world title in six fights so how good was that

It was a great effort ,, but horses for courses , his opponent was not an unbeaten Sven Ottke , and remember Mundine only had two ameteur bouts , Jeff was a good ameteur

I thing Lomanchenko capturing world title in 3rd professional fight is best effort despite having 400 amateur bouts

Saensak Muangsurin captured WBC light welterweight title in his 3rd professional fight in 1975 so that was a great effort. He had been a kick boxer
He died in 2009 age 56 years

raydoug wrote: ↑14 Dec 2020, 23:17 Jeff Fenech won world title in six fights so how good was that

Against a a guy with only slightly more experience than him. IIRC at the time the IBF wasn't viewed as a real world title like the WBC and WBA were. Because the IBF gained legitimacy on par with the WBA and WBC (and has now exceeded the WBA IMO) the accomplishment does look better than it really was.

This chick did it on debut: https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/459071 she beat someone who had only had 1 fight for a vacant title so I don't think it really means all that much.

p4p1 wrote: ↑16 Dec 2020, 03:44

raydoug wrote: ↑14 Dec 2020, 23:17 Jeff Fenech won world title in six fights so how good was that

Against a a guy with only slightly more experience than him. IIRC at the time the IBF wasn't viewed as a real world title like the WBC and WBA were. Because the IBF gained legitimacy on par with the WBA and WBC (and has now exceeded the WBA IMO) the accomplishment does look better than it really was.

Totally agree Shingyaki? was bloody awful. the fact that Jeff was able to claim a 3 weight champion is an insult to previous champs. Jeff should have unified before going up.
Before Fenech he defended against a guy on debut and one a SD

Grant wrote: ↑05 Jan 2021, 06:09

p4p1 wrote: ↑16 Dec 2020, 03:44

raydoug wrote: ↑14 Dec 2020, 23:17 Jeff Fenech won world title in six fights so how good was that

Against a a guy with only slightly more experience than him. IIRC at the time the IBF wasn't viewed as a real world title like the WBC and WBA were. Because the IBF gained legitimacy on par with the WBA and WBC (and has now exceeded the WBA IMO) the accomplishment does look better than it really was.

Totally agree Shingyaki? was bloody awful. the fact that Jeff was able to claim a 3 weight champion is an insult to previous champs. Jeff should have unified before going up.
Before Fenech he defended against a guy on debut and one a SD

I guess it evens out as Jeff should have won the decision against Nelson to take the WBC Super Feather title. I've never had a problem with Fenech not unifying at the weight, he was 20 when he won the IBF title and 22 when he won the WBC super bantam title he outgrew the division having his last fight at BW just before his 22nd birthday.
I think for the time it was fine, really Jeff was still a prospect even after he won the IBF title, the same way the IBO belt is often used, the WBU was used in the UK and the WBO before that gained legitimacy.

Agree He was shafted against Nelson no doubt. But with all the various bodies, titles really mean less than they did, I'm sure you will agree. I really wish Jeff had unified the featherweight division which would have been some achievement.
What people tend to overlook however is that Jeff only could have a limited time at the top because of his brittle hands.
So he made hay whilst the sun shone.

Grant wrote: ↑05 Jan 2021, 22:36 Agree He was shafted against Nelson no doubt. But with all the various bodies, titles really mean less than they did, I'm sure you will agree. I really wish Jeff had unified the featherweight division which would have been some achievement.
What people tend to overlook however is that Jeff only could have a limited time at the top because of his brittle hands.
So he made hay whilst the sun shone.

As a fan of the history of the sport rather than so much of a current fan. Meaning I watch the occasional big fight, normally on YouTube or another site for free hours or more after the fight has taken place, but I read boxing books quite often. I totally agree with you, the titles have been devalued to a sad state. Its not just the orgs but the promotors who have destroyed it.