Fightnight: Mundine v Green

Prefight

Driving into Hurstville, you could feel the tension cutting through the cold night air. Groups of young men were sprawled all over Forest Road. The Ritz Hotel already had patrons spilling onto the sidewalk.

At the Meridian Hotel it was packed to the brim. All available seats were taken, with people standing up, leaning against the walls, crouching on the ground. There were so many people there that they didn’t even have enough Schooner glasses to serve all the dry mouths. The full house sign had already gone up two hours ago, but the patrons kept pouring in. Slipping into every crack and crevice they could find, they wanted to catch a glimpse of the greatest fight in Australian history.

Dubbed as “The Man versus The Machine”, it could have easily have been the “Sizzler in Sydney”, “Assault at Aussie”, “The Brawl in Blues town” or more appropriately, “Mundine’s Million Dollar Baby”.

At about 10pm, both contestants came out. Green to the tune of “Land Down Under” to Alvin’s “that’s a disgrace” and Mundine’s hiphop track (which no one knew).

Then it was on!

Let's get ready to rumble!

In the first 30 seconds, Green showed his colours. Rushing at Mundine, he landed several good body shots as Mundine retreated to the ropes. Was this a sign of things to come? Green fans cheered as the “Machine” continued to process “The Man”. This was all part of his strategy to punish Mundine’s body and slow him down. Green, the stalker and Mundine, the prey. First round went to Green.

In the next two rounds, the tide began to turn. Mundine’s evasive skills came to the fore, as Green’s bombs missed their mark. Ducking and weaving like a buoy in heavy seas, Green could not leave a mark on the man. Conversely, Mundine landed clean scoring shots when the slightest crack opened, including one flush on Green’s nose leaving a trickle of blood. His stiff left jab would continue to sting Green all night.

It was in the third round, you could see Mundine’s confidence visibly rise. The footwork, the body movement, the shimmy all hinted it was the man’s night. He had weathered the initial storm, and wasn’t fazed by Green’s thunderstrikes to his ribs and abs. As he would say in response to the Chief’s question on the Footy Show: “Did that hurt?” with a cocky “I’m in TREMENDOUS SHAPE (emphasis)!”

By the fourth and fifth round, Mundine had clearly edged ahead on points. He was continually frustrating Green. Green’s continued to miss and this took a toll on the fighter. In contrast, Mundine stayed crisp and sharp, landing some good shots as well a nasty uppercut. A lesser man would have been felled by now but Green was undeterred and soldiered on. The Machine’s mettle (and chin) would be put to the test tonite.

It was an interesting contrast of fighting styles. Green with the traditional fighter’s stance with both fists raised. He was crouched down to reduce his 5cm height advantage to bring the fight to Mundine’s level. Meanwhile, Mundine was in the unorthodox style of left hand raised, and right hand low waiting to pounce – almost taunting him in a way. It was only because of his superior speed he could get away with this.

Mundine dominates

In the 8th, 9th and 10th round, Mundine was clearly in control and dominant in the exchanges. When both fighters locked horns and one managed to connect, the hurt fighter would quickly respond with a flurry of punches. But something different happened. With Green on the ropes, Mundine just mauled him. Left jabs, uppercuts, crosses, punches to the body. Green had no response as he retreated to his defensive shell. About 10 punches later, Green threw out a feeble left hook to ward off Mundine, like a wounded antelope fending off a blood thirsty lion. Mundine was now standing toe to toe with Green and forcing him back. The Machine was being put out of commission!

With the 11th and 12th round, Green had to do something as he was clearly losing on the scorer’s cards. But he just could not find that chin of Mundine. It was there for a split-second, and then somewhere else. Danny’s vision and strength were clearly sapped. His legs wobbled. Only one thing pushed him on – his pride. He went down swinging to the last bell, as Mundine continued to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

Victory is mine

By unanimous verdict, Mundine had won on the judges cards. There weren’t any great knockdowns and I was kinda disappointed in that as there was only a few moments where both traded blows. It was great to see both fighters hug each other, in a display of sportsmanship and respect. Though Mundine was still his old self, climbing onto the ropes with a “big shush” to all his critics with the words “I’d told you so”. As Kosta Tsyzu said at the end of the day, its all business. Both fighters walk away with millions, with Green’s career in tatters to the comfort of $2.5m.


I'm out like the Beaconfield Miners,

DJ Ho