By Jake Donovan
Anthony Mundine survived a strong second-half surge from Sergey Rabchenko to take a questionable split decision in their 12-round super welterweight contest Wednesday evening in Melbourne, Australia.
The story line of the fight wasn’t necessarily who was the better fighter, but how the three judges came to the final scores that were produced in light of what was previously revealed through open scoring. A three-way draw through eight rounds somehow became a clear cut win for Mundine on two of the three scorecards, despite Rabchenko enjoying his best moments of the fight over that stretch.
Action was sparse early on, as neither fighter was willing to engage in the Australia Pay-Per-View headliner. Mundine – a former two-time super middleweight titlist - was granted rounds based solely on ring generalship, maintaining a desired distance on the strength of his jab while Rabchenko simply refused to let his hands go.
Open scoring unearthed a bizarre statistic. Mundine was up 40-36 and 39-37 on two cards through four rounds, while a third judge somehow had it 39-37 in favor of Rabchenko. Among the many problems with open scoring, is that a judge with an odd card would feel inclined to catch up to his fellow ringside officials.
The next four rounds seemed to suggest this took place. Rabchenko slowly took control of the fight with a consistent body attack beginning in round five, especially putting together a strong four-round stretch in rounds seven through ten. Yet through eight rounds, Mundine was merely up by the same margin – 77-75 – on one card, with Mundine up by same score while the third judge had it 76-76, meaning it was anyone’s fight heading over the final four rounds.
Rabchenko – a well-traveled Belarusian fighting in Australia for the first time – didn’t do himself favors by giving away so many early rounds. However, the unbeaten challenger put in his best work over the back six, beginning with a big rally in round seven to hurt Mundine for the first time in the fight.
After outworking the local superstar in rounds eight and nine, Rabchenko moved in for the kill in a round ten that was easily his biggest of the fight. Mundine actually began the round well, rocking his foe early in the frame. Rabchenko shook off the blow and came on like gangbusters. His body punches slowed Mundine in his tracks, setting up power shots upstairs.
Mundine was in a world of trouble over the final minute of the 10th round, but somehow landed a bailout punch to back up Rabchenko and make it to the bell.
That singular shot allowed Mundine to make it to the championship rounds. From there, the judges took care of the rest.
Rabchenko didn’t do himself any favors by leaving anything to chance over the final six minutes. There was plenty of give and take in rounds 11 and 12, just enough to create room for a Mundine win if the fight was that close on the table.
Given the scores through eight rounds, it seemed as if a draw was inevitable, which would mean Rabchenko remains unbeaten, though his stock not necessarily rising in the process.
Boxing being the theatre of the unexpected, what came of the night instead was a mathematically unlikely outcome.
Rabchenko managed to win 115-113 on one card, presumably the same judge who had him in the lead for the entire fight. That tally was overruled, with Mundine winning by the same score on the second card. The third judge turned in a score of 116-112, suggesting Mundine somehow won three of the last four rounds – either that, or the cards were improperly announced after eight rounds.
That mess is for a commission and perhaps the local government to sort out.
As it pertains to boxing, Mundine – at age 39 – once again resurfaces to the contender level. Seven months after being humiliated by Joshua Clottey in Newcastle and amidst what has otherwise been a miserable year for Australian boxers on the world level, Mundine is once again in position to challenge for a major title.
The silver title at stake suggests that – from an alphabet rankings standpoint – he would be next in line for Floyd Mayweather Jr. But after years of chasing the pound-for-pound king, Mundine finally recognizes his limits.
“Floyd is the best of our era. I'm not going to disrespect him,” insisted Mundine, whose record improves to 48-6 (27KOs). “If he wants to fight me, that’s great.”
Rabchenko suffers the first loss of his career, as he falls to 25-1 (18KOs).
The career-resurrecting win for Mundine comes just shy of one year after forcing faded Shane Mosley to quit after six rounds, complaining of a back injury in not coming out for the 7th round of their showdown last November.
Mundine was unable to properly leverage the win, instead falling well short versus Clottey this past April. The perceived upset put Clottey in position for what was believed to be a shot at Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, only for the Mexican superstar to pull out of their discussed December 6 showdown, citing an alleged injury.
Logic would suggest that perhaps a Mundine-Clottey rematch would be in store since Alvarez removed himself from the equation, presumably to fast forward to a desired showdown with World middleweight king Miguel Cotto.
But at age 39 and not particularly interested in moving backwards, Mundine angles for the most realistic fight he believes he can land, assuming it’ll never be Mayweather.
“Hopefully we can fight someone like Canelo Alvarez. I fought his brother, beat him handily,” Mundine notes, referring to his 12-round win over Rigoberto Alvarez in their Oct. ’11 interim super welterweight title fight. “Canelo Alvarez is a good matchup stylistically.”
The bout topped a show which aired live on Australia Main Event Pay-Per-View.
UNDERCARD
Leonard Zappavigna (33-2, 23KOs) picked up his eighth straight win after battering Misael Castillo (26-4, 24KOs) into submission inside of seven rounds.
Lucas Browne (22-0, 19KOs) remained unbeaten after forcing American journeyman Chauncy Welliver (55-9-5, 22KOs) - now based out of New Zealand - to retire on his stool after five rounds.
Unbeaten super featherweight prospect Kye Mackenzie (13-0, 11KOs) picked up the biggest win of his young career, stopping featherweight title challenger Clive Atwell (12-2-1, 10KOs) in ten rounds.
A full recap can be found
HERE
.
FULL RESULTS:
Anthony Mundine (47-6, 27KOs) SD12 Sergey Rabchenko (25-1, 18KOs)
Leonardo Zappavigna (33-2, 23KOs) TKO7 Misael Castillo (26-4, 24KOs)
Cory Paterson (2-0, 2KO) KO1 Michael Lua Tama (0-1, 0KOs)
Kye MacKenzie (13-0, 11KOs) TKO10 Clive Atwell (12-1-1, 7KOs)
Lucas Browne (22-0, 19KOs) TKO5 Chauncy Welliver (55-9-5, 22KOs)
Anthoyn Buttigieg (7-0, 1KO) UD6 Joel Camilleri (6-3, 4KOs)
Kane Watts (12-2, 6KOs) TKO4 Mick King (4-4, 3KOs)
Isileli Fa (1-1, 0KOs) UD4 Dylan Goddard (3-2, 2KOs)
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
