5 years on Man v Machine legacy remains mixed

http://www.abc.net.au/sport/stories/2011/05/17/3218680.htm?site=sport&section=all



Man v Machine's legacy remains mixed

By Corbin Middlemas
Posted May 17, 2011 07:52:00

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Pioneers or palookas? Billy Hussein and Jeff Fenech don't see eye to eye on the legacy of the Green-Mundine bout. (Getty Images: Cameron Spencer, file photo)


It's been five years since Anthony Mundine, in the words of the late Clinton Grybas, "delivered everything he told us he would."
In front of over 30,000 fans at the Sydney Football Stadium, and thousands more who watched on at home, Mundine delivered a boxing clinic to Danny Green in the most-anticipated bout in Australian boxing history.
After years of palaver, on May 17, 2006, it was finally on: The Man versus The Machine.
It was a landmark event for Australian boxing as the feud between the pair had developed into a mainstream sporting issue.
Betting agencies took more bets on the outcome of the fight than the 2005 NRL grand final while it also broke the record for the most wagered on a boxing event in Australia.
Green was the favourite with both the punters and the public, but once the bell sounded Mundine controlled the bout to score a comprehensive unanimous points decision victory.
So five years on, how did the event aid the sport and where has it lead Green and Mundine in their careers?
Say what you will about how both men carry themselves in the press, the creditability of their bouts and their standing in the sport - but there's little doubt that this event was the most anticipated, in the history of Australian boxing.
"(Mundine) is a big part of why the biggest fight in Australian boxing history happened," world champion trainer Billy Hussein said.
"It could have been another fighter, as good a fighter with just as much ability as he has but I different personality and it wouldn't have been as big a fight.
"Anthony was Anthony while Danny, a lot of guys wanted to see Anthony get knocked out, and they thought Danny Green was going to knock him out."
But it was to be Mundine's night.
As the former St George and Brisbane rugby league star sat on the shoulders of his team post-fight, he signalled to the chorus of jeers from the Sydney Football Stadium crowd that he had silenced his critics, to become the 'king of Australian boxing'.
While his standing in the sport on a world stage remains questionable, his impact on the sport in these parts is evident.
Since turning professional in July 2000, Mundine has paved the way for a generation of Australian boxers.
His ability to draw crossover crowds and gain mainstream media exposure has rejuvenated the sport in this country.
This in turn helped the profile of many Australian boxers coming through the ranks including Green, Daniel Geale, Michael Katsidis, Sakio Bika and Vic Darchinyan, all of whom were Sydney 2000 Olympians.
Since that memorable night however, both men's popularity has tumbled.
Mundine reclaimed the WBA super middleweight title and won the IBO middleweight title as he searches to become the first man in history to claim three world titles in descending weight divisions.
Mundine's career stalled dramatically last year when knocked out by reality TV show Contender Australia winner Garth Wood.
He has since won a return bout with Wood but is still awaiting an opportunity to fight for a Junior middleweight world title.
Team Mundine has held preliminary discussions with interim WBA world champion American Austin Trout.
Mundine must hope Trout can defend his title in June against David Lopez to ensure a shot at a world title remains hopeful in the near future.
Meanwhile Green was at the epicentre of one of the more farcical bouts in Australian boxing history against Paul Briggs that ended only moments after it had begun.
Green is the current holder of the cruiserweight world title in the lowly credited IBO division.
Among his critics is former trainer and mentor Jeff Fenech.
"I believe he's gone backwards," the three-time world champion said.
"I believes he's jumped on the gravy train, he's learnt off the guy he use to bag everyday, he bagged Anthony Mundine for his antics and everything that he done [sic], about making money and now Danny Green is no different, they should just call him Danny Mundine."
As for Fenech's take on the possibility of a Green versus Mundine rematch?
"If they ever had (a rematch) it would be a joke... so that would just be a complete embarrassment to sport," Fenech told ABC Grandstand.
"They've done some pretty embarrassing things to the sport of boxing and as much as the media wants to build them up and say, 'they've done some great things', look at the negative things they've done for the sport as well, some of those negatives have really rocked the sport to the core."
"In the eyes of the real boxing world, they're palookas."

 

heres a interview 10 days before the fight.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFW5dnk0OvU[/ame]
hes certainly changed from the humble,non-trash talking
guy he was then to how he is today.great promotion for what was essentially just a fight to challenge for Kesslers WBA belt.