By Mark Vester
Former two-time super middleweight champion Anthony Mundine (35-3, 23KOs) easily won a twelve round decision over Aussie rival Shannan Taylor (48-7-3, 34KOs) at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, Australia. The scores were 120-108, 120-107 and 120-107.
Mundine was fighting as a middleweight for the first time. Mundine was busier, stronger and his hand speed was too much for Taylor to deal with. In the eight round, a cut opened up under the left eye of Mundine, but he had very few problems otherwise. Taylor used plenty of rough tactics during the fight to try to throw Mundine off of his strategy.
Now Mundine has a real decision to make. He is the number one contender to middleweight champion Felix Sturm, but his career rival Danny Green just announced his boxing comeback on Tuesday. A rematch with Green is the biggest fight in Australia and worth millions more than Sturm. Green wants to take a few more fights before Mundine and he wants the rematch to take place at 175. Is Mundine willing to take the risk of facing Green two weight classes up or going to fight Sturm with a Green rematch hanging overhead?
Mundine's manager Khoder Nasser strongly hinted just prior to the fight against Taylor that a Green rematch is a big priority for them.
“I worked hard to get to middleweight,'' Mundine said. “I didn't know how I would hold up but the longer I stay at middleweight, the better I'll get. Shannan was a tough and worthy opponent.''
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingvester@gmail.com
