The only world title fight of this week oddly takes place on a Wednesday as Australian boxing fans see their only world champion, IBF Middleweight title holder Daniel Geale (28-1, 15) face off against domestic rival Anthony Mundine (44-4, 26), in a rematch of their controversial 2009 encounter that Mundine narrowly won.
When the two men first faced off Geale, then unbeaten at 21-0 was seen as the notable under-dog priced at around 3/1. Not only was he less experienced than Mudine, then 35-3 but also perceived as the naturally smaller man with Mundine campaigning as a Super Middleweight whilst Geale was a Middleweight as well as having faced much easier touches than Mundine who had been a world champion at Super Middleweight.
A lot has changed since then their first fight however and Geale is now considered not just the favourite but also as one of the best fighters in the Middleweight division. Not only does he hold an alphabet belt but he holds notable victories over Roman Karmazin, Sebastian Sylvester and Felix Sturm and has proven himself on the road winning two major decisions in Germany, something that that is incredibly rare for any fighter.
Despite unifying the IBF and WBA Middleweight belts, the political situation of the WBA has seen Geale stripped of that belt though boxing fans do rightfully regard Geale as a top guy at Middleweight, in fact some have him at #2 behind Sergio Martinez (other fans have him at #3 behind Gennady Golovkin as well).
In terms of his style Geale is a true hard worker, he's relentless in his attacks throwing 100's of punches up close as he attempts to break down opponents. Although he lacks world level power he has shown a genuinely world level engine and the cumulative effects of his shots are tiring especially as he never seems to slow down. Sadly for Geale it's fair to say that if he had the power to match his work rate he'd be one of the sports top guys pound-for-pound. The champion couples his extreme work rate with a genuine toughness and a dog like tenacity that will refuse to back down, this makes him a very serious opponent for anyone.
At 37 years old, Mundine, the challenger, is coming to the end of his eventful career. Mundine has literally gone from one sport to another having been a former professional rugby player before turning his sights on to the squared circle where he has been surprisingly successful having held various titles since his debut in 2000. The highlights of Mundine's career have understandably been his 2 reigns as the WBA World Super Middleweight champion and reign as the WBA Light Middleweight interim champion. Of course his previous titles would allow to become a 3-weight champion if he were to beat Geale for the IBF title.
As well the highlights for Mundine there have also been the down points both in and out of the ring. Notable being one of only 6 stoppage victims of Sven Ottke back in 2001, though also losing his world title at home to Puerto Rican Manny Siaca and suffering a stoppage loss in 2010 to novice Garth Woods. Away from the ring Mundine's mouth has been a source of issues including comments about the September 11 attacks and personal comments made towards Geale, comments that Geale will likely want to punish Mundine for.
In terms of his talent Mundine is a very talented fighter, he's tough (despite suffering 2 stoppage losses), he's fit, he's tricky and he can play dirty. At his peak he was a genuinely talented boxer with a decent punch (though certainly no world level banger) and under-rated skills. In recent years however father time has started to catch up with him and he's faced low level or fading opponents who were there to lose to him.
Sadly for "The Man" it's fair to say that for Geale this is personal. The champion, as mentioned above, was stripped of his WBA title for taking this bout, he's wanting revenge for the comments Mundine has made about him and he wants to avenge his only professional defeat. This time as the betting favourite and as a confident, much more developed fighter Geale will almost certainly out work, and punish Mundine. Don't expect this one to finish early, Mundine is a tough cookie and Geale isn't a banger, but expect it to be a very one sided beat down.
Prediction-Daniel Geale UD12
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