Khoder Nasser and Anthony Mundine won't let detractors get in the way of their winning partnership, writes Danny Weidler.

Radio host Alan Jones said it straight and said it first: "Anthony, get rid of your manager." It was just after Mundine's first fight and it has not been forgotten by Khoder Nasser, who is now the most influential figure in Australian boxing.

Nasser was standing next to Mundine when Jones uttered the words. "At least he said to my face what a lot of people were saying behind my back," Nasser said with his customary laugh. "That is the one thing I respect him for.

"What Alan failed to understand was that I didn't apply for the job."

Soon after, Jones was shunted out of Team Mundine. Nasser is still there and the comments still shadow him.

He is viewed as having some kind of spell over Mundine. A dark influence who turned a softly spoken, sweet kid into Australia's most outspoken and controversial sports star. Yet Mundine swears by Nasser's advice.

It's assumed that Nasser, a Muslim, turned Mundine towards the religion. But it was he who was most shocked at Mundine's decision.
Nasser said he has had major run-ins with the Mundine family. "It's only natural when an outsider comes into such a close-knit group." They now accept him as one of their own.
Nasser's detractors described him as "the Don King of the dunnies" for finalising a deal in a bathroom moments before a fight.

Nasser has even shared a cigar with King in his living room and told him to forget about controlling Mundine. Nasser has also told Jeff Fenech to "jam it" and then broken bread with the former champion.

Nasser will sleep in a car for days before a big fight or on the floor of an expensive hotel room or on a beach so that he doesn't get too comfortable and lose his edge.

He has banned journalists from fights and thrown out others he doesn't like. He can go from serene to obscene in the blink of an eye. He has agreed to his first interview since assuming control of Mundine's career four years ago - only if he is allowed to thank Mundine's parents, Lyn and Tony, promotions people Tristan Hay and Pam Lopez and close mate, Keith Kak.

Nasser is being wooed by some of the boxing world's biggest names who want a piece of Mundine, but no one knows about the man behind "the Man". "That's how I like it," he said. "Too many managers with big stables like to blow hot air." Nasser isn't into hot air but he doesn't mind a cigarette. He loves a yarn, a strong coffee and a mineral water.

He is 32, has an arts degree with a major in politics, and is a history buff. He is as generous as he is loyal but cross him and he doesn't forget. "My motto in life comes from a Cat Stevens song where the chorus says, 'It's a wild world and it's hard to get by just upon a smile'.

"Sometimes in my line of work I will blow my cool and upset people but that's just the way it is."

The relationship between Nasser and Mundine is one of sport's most intriguing. Put simply, they are best mates but outsiders view it as the manipulator and the manipulated.

Nothing could be further from the truth and in an emotional moment shortly after winning his world title, Mundine asked Nasser for a hug and said, "You are my back, you are my eyes". The pair are so close Nasser asked Mundine to choose the name of his only child, a boy called Abdur-Rahim.

During the build-up to a fight the pair are inseparable. Nasser is a prime motivator who can talk for hours about tales from history and religion, which he uses to motivate his mate. He has been playing that role in Mundine's life since they met at a Dragons game eight years ago.

"We just started talking about Muhammad Ali and we've been mates ever since," Nasser said. "He is my best friend, he is family.

"About four years ago, Anthony was being interviewed by someone and he said, 'Ask my manager about that', and he pointed to me. I've been doing it since."

What Nasser is given little credit for is that Mundine has made more money in three years of boxing than he could have in 10 seasons of league. He has had two world title shots in a three-year career through canny negotiating when most boxers rot on the vine for most of their careers.

"The roadblocks that we have burst through makes Anthony's achievements so much greater and the laughs so much louder," he said.

"Anthony is his own man. When he decided to become a Muslim that blew me away. It was the influence of Ali and reading the Malcolm X book. It was nothing to do with Khoder Nasser.

"My role in his life is just to help him sort through options and present situations and outcomes. "Anthony is my boss and he controls his destiny. I'm just fortunate enough to be in a position to help him when he needs it along the way."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/13/1063341821356.html

[top]

And Echols's lawyer, Lamont Jones, also wants to get his hands on Mundine and handle promotions in the US.

The requests, via manager Khoder Nasser, make a joke of Echols's claim that Mundine "ran like a girl" when the two fought for the WBA world title on September 3. Team Mundine is still waiting for the final figures, but estimate a profit of about $250,000 after some expenses are taken into account because of the postponement. It cost about $600,000 for Echols's prizemoney, expenses and the officials' costs.

The Man is likely to return to Las Vegas for another stint with legendary trainer Floyd Mayweather. He previously allowed Mundine to stay at his home and eat and sleep boxing for a week.

Anthony's father, Tony, trained Mundine beautifully for his bout with Echols and he deserves full praise for the tactics Mundine used to beat the big-hitting American. "To get an offer to train with Echols's man is obviously flattering," Mundine said. "It's something I'll consider but I feel a degree of loyalty to Floyd Mayweather, who took me in and did so much for me.

"I'm fortunate that my father hasn't got an ego about any of this and is so open and wants me to learn as much as I can from as many places as possible."

Mundine and Nasser will travel to Bali for the WBA convention on September 22. They then head to the US for business.

"The WBA convention is an important one for us to attend," Nasser said. "We are hoping that all the heavyweights, including Don King, will be there, and it's good for Anthony to link up with some of these people considering the success he has had.

"There are some people coming from America with security concerns about Bali but that won't stop us."

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/13/1063341820514.html

[top].

TRY ME - GREEN SAYS TO CHAMP
The West Australian, Sept 6, 2003

MUNDINE WIN A BATTLE WON FOR AUST. BOXING
Paul Upham writes in "The Australian"

SECONDS OUT - "Mundine Targets Ottke"

DAILY TELEGRAPH - "THE CHAMP" by Grantee Kieza

DAILY TELEGRAPH - "JUBILATION"

SYD. MORNING HERALD - "Mundine Lives the dream" Phil Wilkins

SYD. MORNING HERALD - Roy Masters

[top].

He went in an underdog, but Anthony Mundine came out champion of the world and Danny Weidler was behind the scenes as he shared his win with friends and fans.

It is 2.09am on Thursday. Less than three hours have passed since Anthony Mundine broke down and wept openly in front of the nation after winning his world title.

He is standing on a footpath in Pitt Street in a borrowed pair of sandals which he is wearing with a pair of white socks, looking far less elegant than when he appeared in the ring sporting a boxing outfit by fashion designer Wayne Cooper.

Mundine is talking to a couple of council workers who are busy cleaning up the town which right now belongs to the Man.

In his post-fight speech he urged the public "to stop me in the street and just say, hey." He is doing that right now.

The council workers look at his face which, for a change, looks like he has been in a fight. On the back of his head is a giant lump, the result of a cheap shot. "Gee it hurts," he says.

His ribs hurt too. Three weeks before, in an off-the-record conversation, he told The Sun-Herald he had a broken rib, but swore us to secrecy so that opponent Antwun Echols would not gain an edge.

His feet hurt too.
In the ring he floated, skipped and did everything except moon walk as he out-manoeuvered Echols.

Now he is walking like someone who has just spent an hour dancing on broken glass. He has worn away the skin on the souls of his feet and on the bottoms of his toes, leaving big red hunks of flesh exposed.

Welcome to the life of a world champion boxer.

There was no after-party for Anthony Mundine. Maybe, given the adversity he was facing (ribs, flu, Echols), team Mundine didn't think there would be anything to celebrate.

Instead, half a dozen of his closest mates gathered in his hotel room, while others came and left.

Danny Brown, Nathan's younger brother, sits on the end of the couch that Anthony is slumped across. "I'm tired, man," Mundine said.

Brown rubs his feet while Mundine watches Andre Agassi on television. The sound is down on the TV but the phones are ringing and the conversation is flowing.

If it's not a hotel call, it's a mobile and it's always for Mundine. Sports drink bottles litter the floor, as do chocolate wrappers, and clothes are spread around the place. Mundine's world title belt is nowhere to be seen.

Mundine is sending text messages, occasionally glancing up at the television screen.

A tape of his greatest achievement has already been obtained and sits in the video recorder.

"I don't want to watch it, I lived it," Mundine says.

And he is re-living it with his mates. "He got me two good shots in the fight, but that was about it," he said. "I was just too quick for him, too smart. But he was a good fighter."

There is no screaming or shouting but there are signs of the cockiness which is a part of Mundine's character. He recites a line from a Rocky movie and asks his friends to guess which one it is from.

He imitates the voice of an announcer declaring him the new super-middleweight champion of the world.

"The NEW," he keeps repeating. "I want to go down in folklore. And I deserve to, switching sports and beating the world.

"When people talk about great Australians and our history, when they talk about Ned Kelly, I also want them to talk about Anthony Mundine as someone who did something remarkable in his life. No one, no one has done what I've done."

At that point, Mundine gets on the phone to American trainer Floyd Mayweather.

Mundine spent a week with the legendary trainer in Las Vegas adding to the skills that his father, Tony, taught him.

Mundine tells Mayweather of his victory as the fight was carried by the BBC but not by American networks.

He puts Mayweather on a loud speaker on his mobile and the emotion in the American's voice is plain to hear.

"We'll work together again, Anthony. I'm just so proud of you and what you have done, you can go even further," Mayweather said. Mundine replied: "You taught me those shoulder rolls and they just helped me so much. Echols just kept missing, thank you. I'll come back very soon, and we will train some more."

Mundine is more animated now but not as boisterous as he was in the dressing room immediately after the fight. Surrounded by his mates and television crews, he was letting out shouts of "yeah, yeah" time and again.

His friend of more than a decade, Gorden Tallis, was in the room and they embraced, jamming their foreheads and noses together as they held each other tight. Tallis dared not visit Mundine before the fight because Tallis was so nervous and feared he would put fear into his mate.

Footballer John Hopoate is there, as are Tyran Smith and St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown, while Solomon Haumono hovers outside the rooms. Mundine cuts celebrations short as he is taken into the shower room by manager Khoder Nasser, where his prized belt is sitting.

Mundine invites his father and The Sun-Herald into the room and that's when his achievement starts to sink in. Mundine slips into the belt. "Fits good doesn't it Dad?" he says to his father Tony. The pair of them then go and sit on a washing machine, embracing and talking.

"No one can doubt me now," he says to his father. "All those doubters, those haters, where are they now?

"Dad, you know this is as much yours as it is mine. We have done it."

Tony puts his arm around his boy and presses close. "It does not get any better than this," he says.

"My son, my son, the champion of the world."

[top]

Nursing a fractured rib, though beaming a smile of supreme satisfaction, Anthony Mundine began life as a WBA world champion strolling the shores of Manly, sipping cappuccinos and vowing to unify the super-middleweight division.

"I'm going to set more goals now," he said, in full photograph-posing, autograph-signing mode yesterday. ". . . more ridiculous goals that people think I won't achieve."

Barely 12 hours after recording a unanimous points victory over Antwun Echols, a grazed and bruised Mundine conceded that thoughts of retirement - and a possible return to rugby league - had crossed his mind before Wednesday night's bout.

But no longer. Though planning a two-month sabbatical from boxing, Mundine confirmed his intentions to further his pugilistic career, aiming now to capture the WBC and IBF super-middleweight crowns.

And barring further mishaps, he'll do so without the handicap of a fractured rib, an injury the former St George Illawarra five-eighth suffered during a sparring session last month and only revealed after the judges' decision.

Similar injuries have prompted many a boxer to postpone a bout, particularly with a world title at stake. Mundine, though, defied conventional medical wisdom, employed a hit-backpedal-hold strategy and emerged as the 10th Australian to secure a boxing world title, achieving the milestone that eluded his father, Tony, in 1974.
"The first two weeks it was pretty sore, and the last two weeks it was a bit less sore," Mundine said. "I got hit a few times [in the ribs] but I didn't feel the pain until after the fight. There was a lot of adrenalin . . . I fought through the pain barrier.

"If I had lost, maybe I would have [retired]. Obviously [a rugby league comeback] was an option. But this is what I have wanted all my life. I'm lucky I'm so gifted . . . and multi-talented. I'm sticking to boxing. I got the goal I always said I wanted to get and no one can ever take that away from me.

"I was under a lot of pressure. If I lost this fight it'd be 'Mundine chokes' or people would talk about the 'Mundine curse'. I had to fight one of the most tenacious and ferocious super-middleweights in the world, and I beat him convincingly.

"I'll have a break for at least a couple of months. For me, this has been the ultimate achievement."

Mundine, trailed by television crews and inundated with autograph requests from passers-by, strode down Manly's Corso in a sky blue tracksuit yesterday, basking in the sunshine and adulation of his remarkable accomplishment. His WBA world championship belt? That was in the possession of his father, to whom Mundine dedicated Wednesday night's victory. "This one's for you," Mundine said after the fight, handing Tony the belt.

Twenty-nine years ago Mundine senior, Anthony's current trainer, lost his title bid to Argentine Carlos Monzon in Buenos Aires.

Upon returning from a holiday, Mundine plans to train in the United States before embarking on "some big overseas pay days". But first, he must improve.

Be it power, speed or technique, The Man pledged to enhance his sweet science skills - having already turned in a far superior effort to his first world title shot, a 10th-round loss to Germany's Sven Ottke in 2001.

"After Ottke, I was initially devastated," Mundine said. "But over the [following] few months I realised that I had just got the kind of experience that I couldn't have got in 10 or 20 other fights.

"That fight with Ottke was one of the big reasons I won last night. I had a game plan . . . and I think I fought a very smart fight.

"I'd love a rematch with Ottke, but he doesn't want to fight me.

"Obviously, I want to fight overseas and look at some big paydays. Right now, it's all a dream come true and I haven't come to terms with it yet. But I have plenty more improvement left in me."

[top]

Anthony Mundine was hailed as "an icon and a legend" and acclaimed by his Australian boxing peers as `The Man' savoured his first full day as the nation's newest world sporting champion.

While Mundine said he wouldn't make the first defence of the World Boxing Association super middleweight title he won on Wednesday night against American Antwun Echols until January at the earliest, he foreshadowed fighting both here and overseas.

Although only three of his 20 professional fights were outside Australia, Mundine has always hankered after establishing himself in the huge American boxing market and said he wanted to cement his name worldwide.

"I love to fight here at home, but at the end of the day, the mecca of boxing is in the (United) States," Mundine said.

"I'm always going to come back home and have great events here, but if an opportunity arises on a program with (US Cable Television Networks) HBO or Showtime, I might just take that opportunity to put my boxing skills over there.

His slick execution of his hit, run and hold strategy which earned him a unanimous points win over Echols was applauded by the biggest names in Australian boxing.

"I think he's made himself an icon and a legend," said Johnny Lewis, the most successful trainer in Australian boxing history.

"This means a great deal to Australian boxing, I think it's a great shot in the arm and I think the way that Anthony made Echols look so ordinary, it was a credit to him, I think he really came of age last night."

Australia's undisputed super lightweight world title holder Kostya Tszyu dismissed the suggestion by some sceptics that Mundine won only a secondary or interim title because German Sven Ottke was the WBA Super champion at super middleweight.

"I regard him as a world champion," Tszyu said of Mundine.

Tszyu said Mundine's victory would raise Australia's boxing reputation and he commended`The Man' on his strategy.

"I think it was a very smart way of fighting. From a tactical point of view, he made the right decisions, he's done a very good job."

Mundine said it didn't matter to him if some people still refuse to acknowledge him as a legitimate world champion.

"You know why? Because people in boxing know who I fought last night and Ottke gave this guy (Echols) step-aside money not to fight him, that tells you how dangerous and what calibre of person I fought last night."

While Mundine said he would love a re-match with Ottke, the only man to beat him, it was unlikely the bout would occur in the near future, if at all.

As Super champion, Ottke only has to defend that title once every 18 months against the standard WBA champion and as such wouldn't be forced to fight Mundine until this time next year.

The German boxer has however recently hinted at retiring, though he will make a title defence against Danish challenger Mads Larsen this weekend.

Mundine's performance also earned praise from triple world champion and leading trainer Jeff Fench, who at times has been one of his harshest critics.

"I was very impressed with Mundine," Fenech said.

"I think a lot of people underestimate Anthony's speed and unless you fight the perfect fight on paper, he's a hard guy to beat. Anthony fought the perfect fight to win the world title."

Echols said he would like to return to Australia to fight Danny Green, but Fenech said he would probably only be prepared to bring the American out for $(US)10,000-15,000 based on his performance last night.

©AAP 2003

[top]

By Paul Upham: At their media weigh-in on Tuesday in Sydney, WBA No.1 Antwun “Kid Dynamite” Echols and WBA No.2 Anthony “the Man” Mundine both predicated knockout wins when they finally meet for the vacant WBA interim super middleweight title on Wednesday night at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia.

FULL ARTICLE & PICS BY PAUL UPHAM AT SECONDS OUT

[top]

Article by Paul Upham at Seconds Out
http://www.secondsout.com/world/news_53862.asp

[top]

American Antwun Echols yesterday taunted Anthony Mundine about Wednesday night's world title fight, suggesting he would win within five rounds and questioning whether the Australian had a glass jaw.

"It could be over in one round," Echols said. "I'm that kind of fighter. I don't have any fear of him as a fighter, but you are always supposed to be [wary] of any fighter, so I'll watch my Ps and Qs.

"In the 1992 Olympic Games, I lost a controversial decision so this would fulfil one of my dreams if I win this belt."

Appearing on Fox Sports Central in Sydney, Echols told host Duncan Armstrong that he believed Mundine was vulnerable to heavy punches, as when he was knocked out in the 10th round in December 2001 by Germany's undisputed world champion Sven Ottke.

Echols said Mundine fought well against Ottke in Dortmund before he was stopped, declaring: "It was a good fight. Anthony Mundine was winning the fight, looking good. He was very professional in that fight, but he made a lot of mistakes by leaving his hands down."

Watching the tape again of Ottke slamming his right hand into Mundine's unguarded temple, Echols remarked: "The knock-out punch was not that great at all. My mum could have seen that.
"Those type of punches are not supposed to hurt a quality fighter that Mundine says he is. If it was me, I wouldn't let that happen. It was bad."

Asked whether he believed Mundine had a suspect jaw, Echols replied: "I really do. I'm going to test that in the early rounds, from round one. No toying around.

"It depends on how he grabs and holds. I won't let it go no more than five rounds. I don't think it will go five rounds."

Mundine's manager, Khoder Nasser, retorted last night: "Anthony's heard Echols before. He took a blow to the temple from Ottke, the only time he has been stopped in his 19 fights.

"There's a difference between a man's temple and his jaw. I didn't think Echols had been fighting that long.

"Look at what happened when Echols fought Charles Brewer. Brewer dropped him three times in one round."

Echols returned to the US when Mundine was struck down by a virus, forcing a postponement of their super-middleweight title fight for the World Boxing Association belt.

"The sickness to Anthony Mundine was disappointing, but you have to go along with it," Echols said. "I went back to the United States and did 50 rounds of sparring.

"I have adapted to the sleeping pattern over here, I'm on time. My workouts have been great so I'm doing pretty good. I feel like a local.

"I've watched three more tapes of him against local fighters and what I've seen of his style is still amateur.

"He's fighting people who have been sitting out for years; he's fighting people under his weight and who have come up to super-middleweight.

"Anthony has not fought anybody of my calibre or the calibre of any of the opponents I have fought. He has not impressed me at all on his tapes."I'll be there on Wednesday night to give Australians their money's worth. I don't think he'll be able to withstand it."

Echols said he fought lighter than a super-middleweight (76.2kg) as he was a true middleweight (72.57kg).

If he wins the WBA title, Echols may return to Australia to fight Danny Green, who was recently fouled out for head-butting World Boxing Council champion Markus Beyer.

"Big fight!" Echols said, then laughed. "These things happen in boxing.

"Unfortunately, it happened to Danny Green, but, hey, he's got another shot coming up."

[top]

As the fate of his short boxing career nears, 'the Man' talks to Danny Weidler about a date with destiny.

These are the images that have made Australia's most outspoken sportsman, Anthony Mundine, bite his tongue.
Today, we are sitting in a hotel room watching video tapes of Antwun Echols doing his thing.

It is the same hotel room where Mundine went into camp for his previous fight at the Entertainment Centre, when he made his boxing debut against a Kiwi, Gerrard Zohs. "It's the full circle, ain't it bra," he said. "From rookie to fighting for a world title, it's been a journey. "To be perfectly honest it has been a lot harder both mentally and physically then I ever thought it could be and it has taken a lot out of me. But I am excited at getting another shot."

The Mundine stepping into the boxing unknown a couple of years back is a different person to the one encountered today.

On that occasion he greeted The Sun-Herald in his full boxing outfit, skipping around the room, throwing his now famous jab and warning the world about the boxing phenomenon that was about to hit them.
Today, he is subdued, his knuckles are calloused, he has tasted enormous glory and has felt the embarrassment of defeat.
"Losing definitely changes you as a person, and unless you've been there, you don't know how it affects your mind and I don't want that experience again," he said.

"That's why I've been quieter, on edge, and less outspoken because I know the feeling of defeat."

The experts are predicting Mundine will know that feeling again on Wednesday night, however, he shouldn't be completely written off, despite his opponent's ability and the virus which has sapped his energy, strength and, most significantly, his confidence. "I know what I can do and if I execute things correctly, I can win the fight," he said. "I know my back is against the wall, but it has been there before and I'm going to give it everything."

Mundine watches Echols in action on tape with The Sun-Herald. He estimates he has viewed the tapes, "20 or 30 times, maybe more".

As a first-time viewer, it is easy to see why Echols is so highly regarded.

Unlike any other fighter Mundine has faced, Echols appears to have speed on his side. We watch him dismantle Brian Barbosa, a character known as "the Bull".

"He's sneaky quick," Mundine observes of Echols without taking his eyes off the screen. "He ain't lightning, but he has speed. Not as much as me, but the punches he throws out arrive before you know it. He has a good jab and he uses it well to set his distance."

Mundine goes quiet as Echols throws a volley of punches which dominates his opponent.

"Without a doubt he throws maybe 30 per cent more punches than I do. Look at him here, jab, jab, jab, jab, five and then whack, he catches him by surprise. You have to watch him every second. It looks like there's nothing happening and then bang, he's got you. Look, it happens here. He gets lazy, and bang, he nails you.

"He's a lanky guy, long arms, long reach and that's an advantage for any boxer. He's all arms."

Mundine trails off again . . . no question is asked when he offers the following . . . "I can't let him dictate, I can't," he said. "I'll have to come forward but I'll have to pick my times."

We start watching another fight, Echols against some bloke with dyed fluorescent orange hair (Richard Grant). "There's not much point in watching this guy, because he's not in Echols's league," he said. "Hang on, watch here, the right hand, the left hook. He can hit well with either hand and he doesn't have to move much at all to set you up for them."

We watch as Echols stands over his opponent like he owes him the money he needs to buy him his next meal.

"Yeah. He is a bully." said Mundine. "He tries to terrorise his opponents. He doesn't give them a moment's rest. The way he fights reminds me of George Foreman at his peak. He comes at you and is always swinging. He's a stalker. He hunts."

We watch another tape, as Charles Brewer knocks down Echols three times in a round. Brewer, is a hard-punching veteran who held the super middle weight title before he was beaten by Sven Ottke.

"Echols is only human, he can be hit, look how Brewer catches him," Mundine said. "He gets him again and again. Knocks him down but he doesn't finish him off. He doesn't complete the job and that is something that I'll have to do.

"I think he will feel it when I catch him.You have to keep at him because he comes back and smashes Brewer in the next round."

So how do you stop Echols?

"I know what I have to do," Mundine said. "It's not something I'm going to talk about in public before I fight him.

"People have said that my ego will dictate how I fight and that I will try and go toe-to-toe with him just to show him I am stronger and a better slugger. I'm not stupid, even though I know I have the power to beat him.

"I'll have to mix things up to beat him.

"There will be times to stand up in his face and times to be evasive. What is obvious is that he doesn't regard me in the slightest as a fighter. He thinks I'm just an amateur, a powder puff, and that he will lay me out without a problem.

"He thinks I should have stuck to football. Well, I don't mind that one little bit. I've got my back to the wall but I've been in that situation before. Everyone thought I was mad to quit football at my peak and go and pursue another sport.

"Well, I've done that and walked the walk."

And perhaps after the fight, with a belt around his waist, Mundine will again talk the talk.

[top]

"He really should have fought me then. I'll show him it was a really big mistake to call off the original fight date.

"I'm much stronger now and I've had some more time to get over a few things that have been going on – not mentally but physically. "I've done 50 rounds of sparring, I'm much better prepared now and if he was sick then . . ."

Echols predicts he will knock Mundine out in five rounds in Wednesday's super middleweight title fight at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The American was relaxing in his hotel room yesterday, counting down the days before the fight, saying he feels like a champion. Echols has seen plenty of Mundine on tape and said he isn't very impressed.

"I never saw him play rugby (league), but I reckon he would have been a better rugby player than he is a boxer," Echols said.

"My sport is boxing, his is rugby. I don't know what the retirement age is for rugby out here, but I suggest that's what he should go back to." Echols said Mundine has built a false record by fighting has-beens.

"Who has he fought to get to where he is?" Echols asked. "Guys who have been out of boxing for a significant period.

"He has never faced anybody like me. He has never had somebody apply pressure to him like I'm going to."People refer to me as a banger, but I'm going to go out there and show you things you've never seen from me before."

Echols takes heart from Mundine's loss to Sven Ottke, and still shakes his head at the punch that floored him for 10 minutes.

"That punch, man, it was so smothered that my mum would have seen it . . . and stood up to it. He laid down," Echols said. "What's going to happen to him when I've hit him?"

Talk out of the Echols camp yesterday was that there was concern the American was too light going into the fight.

A natural middleweight, Echols will go into the ring on Wednesday at a significant weight disadvantage.

But Echols brushed off talk of his weight, saying he has always fought in this division lighter than his opponents and it had never been a problem. "I'm a natural middleweight, not a super middleweight, but I've never had a problem fighting as a super middleweight," Echols said.

"I've fought all of the guys in the world. I've fought the best super middleweights, unlike Anthony Mundine, and I've knocked them all down. I like knocking down tall timber."

The fight is a significant step for Echols in a career that has seen him twice fight superstar Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins for the IBF middleweight title – losing on points and in a controversial stoppage in the 10th round.

"The reason I came up a division is because Hopkins wouldn't fight me anymore," Echols said. "This fight coming up, it's going to open doors for me. It's the first step to prove myself as one of boxing's greats."

There has been talk about Echols fighting Danny Green should he win on Wednesday. "I haven't seen Danny fight, but I believe he is very good," Echols said. Better than Mundine?

"He probably is . . . 80 per cent of boxers are better than Mundine."

The Sunday Telegraph

[top]

There is no lonelier place on earth than in the labyrinth of a boxer's mind before a world title fight, and for none was it more desolate than for Anthony Mundine.

In the two months since his body was ravaged by a virus, the rugby league-player-turned boxer has waded through unprecedented depths of despair and self-doubt, questioning the worth of continuing in the fight game.

Accustomed to widespread condemnation for his braggadocio and at times politically naive and insensitive observations, Mundine encountered a new wave of hostility after his postponement of the 12-round bout with America's No.1-rated super-middleweight, Antwun Echols.

Even in his Sydney hotel last Tuesday, Mundine's moods ranged between heights of optimism and troughs of despondency, the boxer declaring: "To be deadset honest, I really don't know what more . . . I mean, there's a point where your body can break down.

"I've been through so much that it nearly has. It's hard to say, man, you go through stupid thoughts in your head. You contemplate retiring, you contemplate other things. You have other options, but all said and done, I think that glory will replenish me.

"I've been through hardships, especially before this fight, with everything that's happened to me physically, the virus, with training. But this will make me a stronger person."
That evening, the lightning was gone from his eyes.

Yesterday morning, his father, Tony Mundine, the former triple boxing champion of Australia, from the middleweight to heavyweight divisions, pushed away his coffee and grinned a broken grin for the first time in weeks at the Coluzzi Bar in Kings Cross, the stop-off place founded by another national middleweight boxing champion of the mid-50s, the Italian scrapper, Luigi Coluzzi.

As he always did at his old home in the Aboriginal community at Baryulgil, near Grafton, where he fished and fought and found a way to escape poverty, Tony Mundine was up at 5.30am yesterday - "the house swept out, mopped out, vacuumed out, washed up and everything" - so he could be away to supervise his son's training. And he saw a different man in his son.

"He's come back on track now," Mundine said. "He trained well. He's talking good. You can see the look in his face, a nice look on his lips and his face, you know?

"He's back on track, by Monday, Tuesday, I reckon he will be top of the world again, jumping out of his skin."

In 1974, Mundine flew to Buenos Aires to challenge Carlos Monzon for the middleweight championship of the world.

Mundine himself was one of the most brilliant throwers of punches Australia ever had but Monzon was a genuine champion, too, considered one of the best pound for pound in the world.

"It was tough, very tough," Mundine recalled. "Back in those days, there was no family around you, no friends. You travelled by yourself really, just me and my trainer, Ernie McQuillan senior, and his son, Ernie junior.

"I was there for four weeks and three of the best light-heavyweights in the city were my sparring partners, one into the ring with me, one out, one in, one out. They were giving me a serve, mate, and I was giving them a serve, too.

"What I didn't realise, they were taking the strength out of me, you know? Three light-heavyweights against a middleweight.

"I was really a super-middleweight like Anthony but they didn't have those other divisions. I was fighting for the middleweight title and had to take off more than half a stone just to make the weight for each fight.

"Back in them days, I trained in plastic tracksuits, pants and top, to try and sweat it out of me all the time, every time I trained. "I had to take off so much weight that if I could not knock anybody out in five or six rounds, I was gone myself. I did not have enough energy to carry on." Monzon stopped him in seven rounds.

When Anthony Mundine was old enough to comprehend Tony's accomplishments in boxing, he spoke to his father and made a vow. "Anthony told me when he was eight or nine: 'One day I'll get the world championship. One day I'll be the world champion,' " Mundine senior recounted.

"He's had a pretty rocky road over the last two months. He's trained very hard, then he picked up the virus and then he lost his aunty, my sister Jenny Mundine, three weeks ago.

"We had to go back up to Baryulgil for her funeral, 80 kilometres up the country from Grafton. Anthony came up, of course. She's family, you know?

"Jenny was only 45 years old. She went to sleep and never woke up. All of a sudden, bang! It shocked all of us.

"She was the last of my sisters. I had three sisters and she was the last one left. She was one of those ladies whose door was open for anybody, always open.

"She was one of those mother types. She was a mother for all of us six boys and she looked after us like her own boys, like little boys." Tony Mundine looked at a newspaper clipping quoting Echols, who will touch gloves with his son on Wednesday night at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and re-read the headline: "Echols says he'll KO Mundine."

"I tell you what, mate," Mundine senior said, "Anthony Mundine is going to make this bloke a punching bag in my opinion, a punching bag. "He hasn't fought a guy like Mundine before. Anthony'll frustrate Echols. He's never fought a mover like Mundine. That's where he'll make the mistake.

"I don't think it'll go 12. I think it will be inside eight or nine rounds. The criticism has hurt him. But by the time the fight comes around, Anthony will be drummed up so much, he will go in there and he will destroy this guy.

"It will happen. No worry, it will happen. I know it's gonna be."

[top]

Holed up in his inner-city hotel, taut, tense, biceps stretching his blue muscle shirt, "The Man" is a different personality to the fighter of the past three years. This time he is unsmiling, not his usual shining, assured self. The bombast is gone.

"I'm not scared, not scared of no one," he said. "The only thing I'm afraid of is basically myself, and where my head goes.

"The thing is Echols is only human. They can build someone up to be King Kong but, in the end, he is flesh and blood.

"I just have to make sure I focus on myself and get myself right. Once I feel good, and I've got that spring, that bounce, I can beat anyone in the world."

Even before the tape recorder began turning, Mundine admitted he had been through the hardest time of his sporting career: struck down by a virus, having his bout with the No.1-rated American Echols postponed, hearing the jibes and innuendo.

Even now, although Mundine has not fully recovered from his virus, nothing will stop him lacing on the gloves against Echols at the Sydney Entertainment Centre next Wednesday night.
"Well, to look at it, I've got no choice . . . you know what I mean? I've got no choice because . . ." The words trailed off.

Would people consider you're dodging him if you withdrew again?

"Yeah, of course. People would obviously come up with a lot of scenarios if the fight were to be called off," he said. "And, obviously, I would lose a lot of money.

"But, the main factor is, regardless of whatever happens, they can't take away my dignity and my pride, with me getting in there and doing whatever everyone strives to do: have a go, and be the best.

"I've got no doubts I can beat him. I've got no doubts my skill and boxing ability can withstand anything he throws at me."

Mundine has sparred almost 500 rounds in four months for the fight. The thought of illness preventing him from wearing the World Boxing Association belt fills him with dread.

"I haven't been 100 per cent since six weeks ago, to be honest. When I pulled up with the virus, I took time off to let my body replenish itself," he said.

"I thought I would feel a lot better, but it has taken a toll on my body. The hard work really took its toll, but I want to be as fit as I possibly can, physically and mentally, for September 3.

"I just want to focus on myself and get myself right because I know when that happens, I ooze confidence."

Mundine's reaction was interesting when asked how he would feel when he touched gloves with Echols next Wednesday night.

"I want to see a guy who put me through hell, my body through hell, my mind through hell," he said.

"It'll be time to see who is the best in the world. I've already fought the top-ranked fighter in Sven Ottke. I'll be fighting a guy with a different style, nowhere near as smart, but more dangerous, and see how I have evolved over the last nine fights."

Mundine wondered if it would be a short-lived bloodbath or a rugged, cliff-edge 12-rounder.

"Obviously, it can end early," he said. "He's got the power. I've got the power. I think he's underestimated me.

"If I can hit him sweet, I'll go well. But I have to make sure my alertness, my sharpness and my skill are on par, and that he doesn't get me with anything.

"I'm going in to win, you know? I'm not going in thinking he will beat me. I think I'm a better fighter."

Can he get himself right in time? "I have no choice. God never puts a burden on you that you can't bear."

[top]

Echols returned to Sydney for the rescheduled September 3 bout with Mundine for the vacant World Boxing Council super-middleweight title.

The bout was deferred for four weeks from the original date of August 6 after Mundine withdrew two days before because of a viral infection.

Asked upon his return yesterday morning if he had any message for Mundine, Echols said: "Keep his mouth quiet. Let's have the fight and get it over with, so we can find a new champion".

The American was not impressed with comments made before the bout was postponed and made it clear he would use them as motivation. "He [Mundine] threatened me last time I was here, so I'm going to shut his mouth," Echols said.

Asked what the the nature of Mundine's threat was, Echols said: "He told me the Aborigines, if I keep running my mouth, then I'd have to deal with them. I didn't like that too much. "So this is more of a punishment I'm going to put on him."
Echols said the delay would be to his advantage "in many ways" but declined to elaborate.

However, it would seem he has sparred many more rounds than Mundine in the past three weeks.

Echols's trainer Dan Birmingham said his fighter had sparred "60 or 70" rounds. Mundine only resumed sparring a little ore than a week ago.

Birmingham said Echols had again been sparring with light-heavyweight Danny Batchelder, who has lost only one of 22 professional fights. "He [Echols] was ready a month ago and now he's even more ready," Birmingham said.

Mundine's manager, Khoder Nasser, said the Australian had probably finished his pre-fight sparring.

Echols said he had "never lost" his focus despite the bout's delay.

Antwun Echols can proceed with his re-scheduled world title fight against Anthony Mundine in Sydney in two weeks after his gun charge came up in court today.

An Illinois court today postponed the case to October 25, clearing the way for Echols to return to Australia to fight for the vacant World Boxing Association super middleweight world title on September 3.

"There was no action taken on the case today by anybody," Echols' attorney William Gerald Schick told AAP after appearing briefly in Illinois' Rock Island County Circuit Court.

Echols did not have to appear in court and so remained at his Florida training camp.

He is charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of a firearm in the early hours of June 1.

Authorities allege they found an unlicensed handgun in Echols' vehicle after the car was randomly stopped by Rock Island sheriffs.

If found guilty Echols faces up to 364 days in jail, although usually such an offence would receive a fine.

"These aren't generally jail cases," Schick said.

"It's a misdemeanor so it's the same type of offence as shoplifting or first offence drunk driving. They all carry similar penalties.

"... The facts of the case, in my opinion, would never call for a jail sentence.

Schick said he would investigate whether the Rock Island sheriffs undertook an illegal search of the car.

"If there was an illegal search involved, the case would be dismissed," Schick said.

If the matter did go to a hearing it would probably be scheduled for November or December in Illinois.

Echols' bail conditions, a cash bond of $US1,000, remained in place.

Echols, a 31-year-old power puncher from Davenport, Iowa, was scheduled to fight Mundine on August 6 in Sydney but the fight was postponed to September 3 after Mundine was hit with a viral infection two days before the bout.

AAP

[top]

Sydney Morning Herald

Back to business:

A refreshed Anthony Mundine yesterday dismissed the conspiracy theories about his withdrawal from last week's super-middleweight world title bout as he resumed training for the rescheduled September 3 contest.

Mundine said the illness that forced him to withdraw just two days before his scheduled August 6 fight for the vacant World Boxing Association title against American Antwun Echols was a "fatigue-related virus" and he would have more tests in the next few days to discover whether it was still in his system.

Training for the first time in 10 days, Mundine ran for 40 minutes yesterday morning and did pad work and shadow boxing at his Redfern gym last night.

"I feel good, I feel a lot fresher, whereas before the last few weeks leading into the fight I was just mentally pushing myself to go, not wanting to go," Mundine said. "I knew there was something wrong when that was happening."

Mundine said he would build up his fitness before resuming sparring next week, hopefully with a "top-notch" Australian he would not name.

The 28-year-old said there would be little change to his preparation: "I will probably just freshen up a lot more, I probably won't do as much sparring."

He said the volume of work he did over the previous 10 weeks may have caused his illness.

"Maybe I overtrained. I did over 150 rounds of sparring, tons of road work and I think it was just meant to be, it's fate.

"God is telling me that the body is only human and you have to take a rest and really refocus on September 3 and getting your body as sharp as it felt in the first month of training."

He said in one sense the illness was the best thing that could have happened to him.

"The way I was feeling, I've never felt that way in my life and just feeling really down, my sleeping pattern was right out. I was really lethargic and tired all the time and I haven't had that bounce in my step," he said.

He dismissed a rumour he had a rib injury and other theories floated about the reason for the fight's postponement, which had cost him $150,000.

"Why would I waste $150,000 down the gurgler? If I didn't want to fight the guy, I wouldn't have signed the contract to fight him."

AAP

[top]

Anthony Mundine is sweating on the results of blood tests to clear him for his rescheduled fight with Antwun Echols next month.

After withdrawing from the fight on Wednesday night, Mundine yesterday broke his silence to slam knockers who have accused him of being scared of fighting Echols.

Mundine is recovering slowly from a virus and admits he still doesn't know if he will be declared fit to fight on September 3.

"I haven't felt so flat in my life," he said. "And there is no way I could have fought on Wednesday night. I put so much into preparing for this fight that I could have run myself down, but I'm not sure. The doctor said my virus is fatigue-related and he isn't sure whether I will continue to fatigue, and that's why I needed more blood tests. He has to see whether it is out of my system or whether it has just started to take hold.

"I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am that I could not fight. I've been priming myself for this for months and then for this to strike me down is devastating.

"Two years ago I probably would have gone into the fight being 80 per cent ready and I may just have paid the consequences for being too pig-headed. I've learnt a lot of lessons from my actions in the past and I think have a cool head on my shoulders, and having some patience will benefit me greatly.
"I couldn't have gone the distance with Echols feeling the way I felt. I know I've copped some flak for pulling out of the fight but what would people have said if I'd lost the fight and then told everyone I was sick? All the knockers would have been out then, blaming me for making excuses."

Mundine said he started to feel flat a week before the fight. "My feet felt slow and my shoulders felt heavy," he said. "Even the spark in my face wasn't there. When I sparred on Friday night I was huffing and puffing, I couldn't breathe properly and it's just such a shame because my preparation had been so good.

"I knew something was wrong, but at that point I thought I could still go through with the fight. But those close to me could see something was up."

Mundine has been hammered on boxing websites, being called "a chicken-hearted mortal" and accused of having a bad case of chickenpox, among other things.

"I know what the knockers are saying," he said. "They're saying I'm scared, that I don't want to fight Echols. Well, I admit Echols is a fantastic fighter and Ring magazine rates him in the top three in the super-middleweight and has me at No.9, so I know I'm up against it.

"But to say I'm scared is just stupid. If I was scared why would I sign on to fight this guy? Why would I put everything on the line to try to stage the fight?

"People are stupid if they think I'm scared and I'll prove all those rednecks wrong when I hop into the ring and I give Echols my best shot.

"It wasn't an easy decision to pull out of the fight and it's been a very costly one. I've already lost $150,000 and that's if we can get the fight to go ahead on September 3 and the doctor doesn't say I need more time to rest.

"I'll be listening to the medical advice because this is the biggest day in my life I want everything to be 100 per cent."

[top]

Fenech left yesterday for Germany, where his boxer Danny Green will fight for the WBC super-middleweight world title next Sunday. Fenech told The Sunday Telegraph before he left that he was looking forward to ending the bad blood between him and Mundine.

"Khoder Nasser called me last week a couple of times and they want to meet up with me," Fenech said yesterday.

"So I'm looking forward to coming back to Australia and saying hello to Anthony and wishing him good luck. We don't need this slanging match and it's about time we bury what's supposed to be buried and get on with our lives."

Fenech was an early supporter of Mundine until the Hall of Fame boxer was insulted by the former footballer, who claimed Fenech only won his three world titles by beating "Thai cab drivers".

Since then – and with the emergence of Fenech's man Green in the same division as Mundine – both parties have been at war.

It culminated in Mundine's father, Tony, banning Fenech from attending his son's bout against Antwun Echols that was subsequently cancelled because Mundine had the flu.

Fenech countered by saying he would attend with a group of 50 minders. But now the ice has been broken after an initial call from Mundine's camp.

"We both need to concentrate on getting world titles," Fenech said.

"Look, what happened last week, I'm not going to not go to a fight because somebody tells me. I didn't care if I went to the bloody fight or not, but if they tell me I can't go, me being the person I am . . .

"I'd like to think they realise that arguing with me and fighting with me isn't going to get them anywhere. But, hey, I'm looking forward to saying whatever I need to say to him and his guys and leaving it at that. Let them concentrate on winning a title and leave me out of it.

"I'm sure that when I get back from Germany with Danny as world champion, I'll sit down with Anthony and wish him good luck and hopefully that will be it.

"Maybe what happened last week was a blessing for Anthony because he respected somebody for once. He respected the ability of Antwun by saying 'if I'm not 100 per cent, I'm not going to win the fight'."

Fenech said Mundine had been a victim of exploitation by his "so-called media friend".

"When I was a young kid and said silly things, my friends in the media would look after me," Fenech said.

"I told his so-called publicist that and told him that by writing what he has, he has made people hate Mundine. His response was, and I can't wait to tell Anthony, 'I never said I was Anthony's friend'.

"To me, that's a very low act, a very low call. Who needs friends like that?"

[top]

Echols to return to US - Article at Seconds Out

[TOP]