By Mark Vester
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian veteran Nader Hamdan (40-5, 18KOs) may land a shot at WBA "regular" super middleweight champion Anthony Mundine (30-3, 23KOs).
Mundine is said to be thinking about giving Hamdan the next shot at his title, possibly to land in late February or early March. Mundine's manager, Khoder Nasser, confirmed to the paper that Hamdan was on a shortlist of five possible opponents, but said everything depends on the WBA rankings. Hamdan is not ranked in the WBA's top 15 and, which does not make him eligible for a title shot. Nasser says an exception can be made if they are unable to come to an agreement with some of higher ranked challengers. Hamdan is pumped for the chance to fight "The Man," and confident of victory.
"I read that he wants a tough 12-round hit-out. I couldn't imagine a more perfect opponent than me. I've been 12 rounds 14 times in my career," said Hamdan (40-5, 18KO). "I come to fight, I come to take you into deep waters. I will be forever indebted to him, and I promise him I'll give him a rematch when I beat him."
Mundine and Hamdan are followers of the Muslim faith and have many loyal followers. Hamdan has called for the fight in the past, but was turned by Mundine, who feared the potential bout would divide his Muslim fanbase, causing a rift in the Islamic community. Hamdan feels the opposite would happen.
"I need this fight and if Mundine gives me a shot that says a lot about the guy. No one else will give me a shot. I've wanted to fight Shannon Taylor for so long. Sam Soliman promised me a rematch and it never came. I've asked Danny Green many times and he doesn't want to fight me," Hamdan said. "The Muslim community would see it as a brother giving me an opportunity when nobody else would. This is why I got into boxing, to win a world title. If I finally got a shot, it would allow me to sleep at night."
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