Today's Herald Sun article on Mundine

This an article that wis in the Herald Sun Today and was written by Jon Anderson.

GET REAL, ANTHONY

Where does Anthony "The Man" Mundine rate when comparing Australia's boxing world champions?

The answer is one of the easier sporting equations, simply because Mundine isnt a World Champion.
Is he good enough? Definitly. And even now he would rank ahead of some from this country who have held genuine world title.

But please dont fall for the line he is the WBA super middleweight champion of the world, as advertised since he beat Sam Soliman in Sydney in March and Argentine Pablo NNievas on Wednesday night on the Gold Coast.
The fact Mundine should never have been fighting Nievas, who is ranked NO. 45 in the world and has never been past six rounds, isnt my gripe.
It's purely and simply that Mundine is not the world champion.
So who is? A hard-punching Dane named Mikkel Kessler, who beat Mundine on points for the WBA super Middleweight title in Sydney in 2005.
Yep, the same title Mundine now cliams, despite the fact Kessler remains unbeaten since and has not relinquished or been stripped of the same.
In fact he has claimed the WBC version of the same title after knocking out Geman Markus Beyer last year. Cofusing isnt it?

To clear up the confusion, Mundine is not to blame. He can only fight whoever's put in front of him, even if it is a person who should not be in the same ring.
Blame the World Boxing Association, which allowed such a farce to take place. To ensure extra sanctioning fees, it has named Kessler it's Super Champion.

The belt Mundine fought for twice is the WBA "interim" world championship.
The same thing happened in 2003 when Mundine beat Antwun Echols for the same belt.
It's known as the Clayton's championship, the belt you've got when you haven't got the real world championship.
You would think that boxing has enough problems with credibilty without adding to it's woes by inventing imaginary world titles and trying to dupe the public in the process.

The theory is that a mug punter will be more likely to part with his hard earned if a world championship is at stake.
Mundine is not the only fighter holding such titles, a situation made worse by the proliferation of bodies (known as the alphabet brigade), IBA,IBF,IBC,IBO,WBA,WBC,WBO,WBU) that sanction world title fights at random.

It can be traced back to the 1960's when the WBC and WBA started holding championship fights in oppisition to each other and naming different champions.
You wonder why the respective organisations would not forgo their ego's and just have a box-off to decide each division's legitimate champion.

Sadly there is far too much money tied up in the caper for self-serving megalomaniacs to ever do what would, ultimately, be best for the sport.
Mundine is caught up in that, although in fairness his history suggests the chance to fight Kessler would be accepted with open arms.

A victory and he could then join boxers such as Jimmy Carruthers,Lionel Rose,Johnny Famechon,Rocky Mattiolli,Lester Ellis,Barry Michale, Jeff Fenech, Jeff Harding and Kostya Tszyu as fair dinkum Aussie boxing world champions.

i thought this article was very good and i enjoyed because there is hardly ever boxing news in the Sun.


What are your thoughts about it.

 

yeah i know OZ is going to love it.

i thought it was a pretty good article and he summed up the chit part of boxing well in the orginisations and how they take- take take but only give back here and there with great fights.

for me though he is spot on how Fenech,Carruthers,Rose these blokes won the title as in the best Champ there is in the division.

Sorry to the Mundine fans but hey if he fights these guys and doesnt put them away he deserves this kind of **** to come his way.