Anthony “The Man” Mundine says his fight in Auckland next Sunday will bring him within two fights of becoming the first boxer in history to descend three weight divisions and win world titles.
The outspoken Australian says keeping off the weight for his junior-middleweight contest with American Xavier Toliver at Trusts Stadium, Henderson, has made him near “delirious” but he’ll keep starving himself in the hope one of the division’s stars, such as Manny Pacquiao, offers him a title fight.
Thirty-six-year-old Mundine (42-4) was WBA super-middle champion twice, in 2003-2004 and 2007-2008 then won the lightly regarded IBO middleweight belt, beating compatriot Daniel Geale in a controversial points decision.
On Sunday, Mundine has the unusual and difficult task of combining his own role at the head of the bill with guiding his protege Sonny Bill Williams’ undercard fight with 43-year-old gospel singer Alipate Liavaa.
“We’ll work something out,” Mundine told the Star-Times last night. “I’d normally be there if I wasn’t fighting, but it will be hard to prepare Sonny and myself in such a short time. But I’ve talked to Sonny about his game plan and what to do.”
And those instructions are, essentially, to stick to the basics. “He has worked so hard and come such a long way, this is really a good chance to display that development,” said Mundine. “We will see he has worked at his art.”
Mundine’s opponent is an unheralded American with a 23-6 record, but he says Toliver is the gateway to bigger things. And that’s motivating him to stay slim. “It’s been really hard,” he said, “but good things don’t come without sacrifice. I’m not getting any younger, I’ve got a dodgy hip, but I have been dedicated and disciplined. It’s not just keeping the weight off, it’s keeping my strength and my wit, because when you lose this much it can make you a bit delirious and a bit unstable. But when I get that hard work done, and God willing, that title, it will make everything worth it.”
Mundine said he was “truly” just two fights away from another title shot and was willing to travel offshore to fight a big name. But while he said Geale, who this month won the IBF middleweight title in Germany, wasn’t on his immediate agenda, “he will get what is coming to him: he knows who the king of the ring is down this way”.
