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Mundine sees no stormy Waters

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Interview by Paul Upham: IBF Pan Pacific super-middleweight champion Anthony “The Man” Mundine sparred six rounds on Wednesday in preparation for his 10-round bout with Guy Waters at the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool, Sydney, on Saturday.
Looking slick and smooth, Mundine oozed confidence in the final days before a fight he must win and negotiate uninjured to ensure his shot at IBF super-middleweight champion Sven Ottke 24-0 (5), on December 1 in Germany.

After retiring from rugby league in early 2000, 26-year-old Mundine promised a world title shot within two years before even having boxed his first professional bout and he has been true to his word.

“I said it from day one, 15 months ago, from when I retired from rugby league and I’ll be bringing it home,” said Mundine, 9-0 (7). “I’m excited in the sense that I knew it was going to happen. It’s not a surprise because I knew I was going to make it work. It’s a big test for me to go over there to Germany and get it. I want to absolutely dominate him pretty much every round, if I don’t stop him.”

Before IBF No.14 Mundine can give any further consideration to defeating Ottke, he must first take care of 37-year-old Waters, 25-6-1 (11), who fought unsuccessfully for a world title on three occasions.

“I’m not really worried about or focused on Ottke at the moment. I’m really focused on destroying Guy Waters and letting the people know that I am the best,” said Mundine.

“This is a like a major semi-final. I have to win this to get into the Grand Final, the big one. If I don’t win it then there is no use. I don’t even contemplate losing.”

Looking through Mundine’s wins, Waters is the most experienced he has faced so far and, standing at 6ft 2ins, he will have a significant height advantage over the 5ft 10ins “Man”.

“He’s going to give me the experience that I need again. But all of that is not going to matter, all his experience and all of his wisdom, because I’m the most-supreme athlete in the world and I’m going to prove it. Not just Saturday night, but every time I fight,” said Mundine, who feels he easily won his last fight in September against Sam Soliman.

“The media try to pull the wool over the eyes of the public and the public are just like sheep. They just follow what they constantly see in their face. I watched the Soliman fight on a number of occasions and I clearly won the fight by three or four rounds,” said Mundine.

“But I knew that I could dominate it even more because I set such high expectations for myself. I was disappointed with the outcome even though I did win. I should have not just beat him, but demolished him.

“Like in football, if you are winning 50-0 every week, you become complacent. You tend to forget what it takes to stay on top and stay the best. That was a wake-up call. It’s God’s will to let me see the people that once again doubted me and once again said that I lost. I guarantee you that I will never have another fight that will be that close again.”

Father and trainer Tony Mundine, who fought for the world middleweight title in 1973 against Carlos Monzon, is very pleased with his son’s progress and has no hesitation in putting him in a world title fight so early in his career.

“Ottke must be a great fighter because he keeps winning and making title defences. We will go over there and I am very confident that we will be bringing back a world championship,” said Tony Mundine, who revealed that his son was sick two days prior to his fight with Soliman.

“It was a good experience for him to go 12 rounds. I didn’t tell anybody that he was spitting up blood two days before the fight. There was so much at stake for the fight being on TV that I couldn’t pull him out,” he said.

“He’s 100% now and I can’t see anyone stopping him these days. He is so fast and he really wants to win. It will be short and sweet.”

The Mundine-Waters fight this Saturday night will be available on Main Event Pay-Per-View and participating Fox Pub and Club Vision outlets in Australia with the action commencing at 7pm Eastern.

Anthony Mundine has always been a very confident individual and must be given credit for what he has achieved in such a short period of time. Few individuals in the history of boxing have progressed to the point of being able to secure a world title shot so quickly.

It must be remembered that Mundine had six seasons of professional rugby league, prior to turning to boxing, and his only amateur bouts were four in his early teens. He went from dazzling the public on the rugby league field to dazzling them inside the ring in a matter of months.

Waters is another test for Mundine, one he will most probably pass with flying colours, with his reward being a shot at the IBF world title.

“I’m the best. I told you all I was the best then and I the best now. December 1, I’ll be coming home and everyone will be bowing because I am the best,” said Mundine, who says the fans are in for another super performance

“They are going to see a great boxing display. They are going to see a great outcome. I’ll be surprised if Waters lasts six rounds with me.”


Paul Upham
Contributing Editor
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