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Mundine quick to prove mastery
Grantlee Kieza
18may06
Fair and Square: Green accepts Defeat
SHOWING the electricity and speed that made him a sensation in two sports, Anthony Mundine took Danny Green to boxing school last night to win the biggest-grossing fight in Australian history.
Mundine picked up as much as $5 million before a crowd of 30,000 at Aussie Stadium and ended six years of bad blood with Green by proving his mastery.
The official scores were 118-112, 116-113 and 118-111.
"He put up a good performance. I knew he had a good long jab but I used my speed to catch him and it paid dividends," Mundine said.
"I prepared well. I had bigger guys to spar against, I took a lot of punishment in sparring, I was sick a few weeks ago, that was no excuse.
"I had to take five, six days off training, no one knew about that. Green is a great fighter, he'll bounce back."
Green gave it his all but conceded Mundine was too good on the night.
"He fought a better fight than me tonight, no excuses," Green said.
"I was beaten by a better fighter on the night."
Green rushed Mundine in the first round, trying to intimidate him.
He slammed Mundine against the ropes and controlled the round with his jab.
But he gave Mundine too much space in rounds two and three, and Mundine landed powerful rights in the fifth.
It was the same again in the sixth when Mundine trapped Green in a corner and landed three successive rights.
Green pushed Mundine through the ropes in round seven but Mundine landed huge shots in that round and the next.
In the ninth, Green was warned for three consecutive low punches.
Mundine continued his dominance in the latter rounds, and never looked out of control.
He looked to search for a knockout blow in round 11, but played safe in the final round.
Green was guaranteed $2.5 million with Mundine expected to make as much as double that from the massive crowd and record pay-TV sales.
The crowd was divided in its loyalties.
An army of green T-shirts was camped behind Green's red corner with his parents, wife and sisters in the front row and brother Brendan working his corner.
Diehards even daubed their whole bodies in green paint a la the Incredible Hulk.
But just as there was little to separate the fighters in betting markets by fight time, there was just as much fanatical support for Mundine as he entered the ring from the blue corner with his father and trainer, Tony, backing him up.
Grantlee Kieza
18may06
Fair and Square: Green accepts Defeat
SHOWING the electricity and speed that made him a sensation in two sports, Anthony Mundine took Danny Green to boxing school last night to win the biggest-grossing fight in Australian history.
Mundine picked up as much as $5 million before a crowd of 30,000 at Aussie Stadium and ended six years of bad blood with Green by proving his mastery.
The official scores were 118-112, 116-113 and 118-111.
"He put up a good performance. I knew he had a good long jab but I used my speed to catch him and it paid dividends," Mundine said.
"I prepared well. I had bigger guys to spar against, I took a lot of punishment in sparring, I was sick a few weeks ago, that was no excuse.
"I had to take five, six days off training, no one knew about that. Green is a great fighter, he'll bounce back."
Green gave it his all but conceded Mundine was too good on the night.
"He fought a better fight than me tonight, no excuses," Green said.
"I was beaten by a better fighter on the night."
Green rushed Mundine in the first round, trying to intimidate him.
He slammed Mundine against the ropes and controlled the round with his jab.
But he gave Mundine too much space in rounds two and three, and Mundine landed powerful rights in the fifth.
It was the same again in the sixth when Mundine trapped Green in a corner and landed three successive rights.
Green pushed Mundine through the ropes in round seven but Mundine landed huge shots in that round and the next.
In the ninth, Green was warned for three consecutive low punches.
Mundine continued his dominance in the latter rounds, and never looked out of control.
He looked to search for a knockout blow in round 11, but played safe in the final round.
Green was guaranteed $2.5 million with Mundine expected to make as much as double that from the massive crowd and record pay-TV sales.
The crowd was divided in its loyalties.
An army of green T-shirts was camped behind Green's red corner with his parents, wife and sisters in the front row and brother Brendan working his corner.
Diehards even daubed their whole bodies in green paint a la the Incredible Hulk.
But just as there was little to separate the fighters in betting markets by fight time, there was just as much fanatical support for Mundine as he entered the ring from the blue corner with his father and trainer, Tony, backing him up.