Anthony Mundine (42-4-0) and Rigoberto Alvarez (27-3-0) meet in Newcastle on Wednesday night, both looking to secure themselves a world title shot.
The man in their sights is American, Austin Trout, who defeated Alvarez for the interim WBA Junior Middleweight Title back in February of this year. As it happened, Rigoberto Alvarez had originally agreed to travel to Australia to defend his title against Mundine at the same time. All Mundine needed to do was beat fellow Australian and The Contender winner, Garth Wood. The knockout loss for Mundine dashed those plans – Alvarez fought Trout and lost the interim WBA Junior Middleweight Title. Mundine had been in talks with the Trout camp to have the American defend his title in Australia; however it’s reported that talks broke down when both camps could not agree on a contract, with a dispute set to have been over the amount of options that the Trout camp would hold over Mundine for future fights.
This is no easy assignment for Mundine.
Recently he has suffered a knockout loss to Garth Wood, followed by a scratchy and by no means convincing display in the rematch, despite winning. His last fight was against Xavier Toliver (23-6-0), and although more a keep busy fight, he still needed seven rounds to get past a clearly outmatched opponent. Mundine has always promised the world, and for the last two years he has been spruiking a move to America and a desire to take on the best. The move to fight Alvarez is a giant leap in the right direction, and Mundine has highlighted a clear path he wishes to follow. A win over Alvarez will see him fight Trout for the interim title, which will make him the first man to win three world titles in descending weight divisions.
But the biggest thing that will throw Mundine’s plans into chaos, is standing in the opposite corner come Wednesday night. Rigoberto Alvarez is no walkover. He is a crafty southpaw, who is going to be tough to put away. Alvarez has heavy hands and the knockout power to drop Mundine if he catches him. All but one of his thirty fights have taken place in Mexico, with his only overseas fight taking place in South Africa, which ended in defeat to William Gare in their WBF Super Middleweight Title fight. Mundine has shown signs that he no longer has the ability to get outside like he used to, and his recent fights have seen him tagged on numerous occasions, and of course knocked out by Garth Wood.
The jury is still out on whether or not Mundine is comfortable with the Junior Middleweight division. Despite “campaigning” in the division for the last eighteen months, he fought in the Middleweight division in his fights with Wood, and even when fighting at Junior Middleweight, we have seen him decide to fight at catchweight rather than the true mark.
Mundine comes in with a disrupted preparation which saw the fight postponed for a number of weeks, after Mundine suffered a deep cut over his right eye in sparring. The cut is still clearly visible, which raises questions over the effect it has had on Mundines preparation, as well as what effect it may have on Mundine in the fight itself. Mundine has said the Garth Wood defeat was a blessing in disguise. He says it made him reassess his training and stop taking shortcuts, and has made him a better fighter.
Others feel Mundine’s boxing ability is in a state of decline and that there are signs that Father Time is having an effect.
Both men are fighting for a shot at redemption, and despite being the former Champion, Alvarez will go into the fight as the underdog. But for Mundine, all the pressure is on his shoulders. There is no room for empty promises or big fights that fail to materialise.
It’s either career resurrection or the end of an era.
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