Boxing

Anthony Mundine To Face Antwun Echols

By Tony Nobbs

02.09 - Four years to the month after playing for the St George-Illawarra Dragons in the NRL Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium, hometown boxer Anthony Choc Mundine will meet Antwun Echols for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight Championship at he Sydney Entertainment Centre tonight (Wednesday).

At last nights 7 pm official weigh in, Mundine came in right on the limit of 76.2 kg while Echols, inactive for 13 months, scaled 75.8 kg. By fight time expect the size difference to be huge.

With predictions more or less split in the local fight scene, the more experienced Echols is warm favorite although there has been some good size amounts put on the local yesterday.

Mundine, 28, has looked much better in the lead up to this fight after postponing two days before the original date August 6 due to a virus and is said to be supremely confident by those close to his camp. The pair appeared on the 'Footy Show' last Thursday night and the word respect was used frequently, Echols wore a Dragons Guernsey, and they shook hands and embraced at the conclusion of the segment.

Following the re scheduling the 31 year old WBA number one ranked 'Kid Dynomite' from Davenport Iowa returned to his Florida base before arriving back in town last Wednesday. He has referred to 'The Man' as "amateurish" and claims the number two contender was knocked out with a "smothered punch" by Sven Ottke in December 2001.

"That was a good fight for him, he did very well early but my mother could have seen that punch coming. Sven Ottke is one of the lightest punchers in the world, what is going to happen when I hit him? He will have butterflies for months thinking about my power".

At a press conference-dummy weigh-in at lunch time yesty, Mundine said that he doesn't think Echols realises how hard he himself hits. "Everyone is talking his power up. But I have power too. And he will find out tomorrow night. He is predicting a knockout, I'm predicting a knockout. And I don't think he hits as hard as they say he does. Anyone you hit right, they can be hurt".

Echols, who turned up in a Balmain-Wests Tigers NRL jumper (my team) and gave a short verse of "Eye of the Tiger" says it is he who has benefited most from the four week delay and is predicting a knockout win inside five rounds.

"I come to that (conclusion) by viewing tapes of Anthony's fights and being around him personally. I don't think his speed will bother me. It's pitty-patter. I can stay on the ropes and take that all night".

Whatever the result in this fight, Anthony Mundine has done extremely well in a professional career that began on July 3 2000 on a PPV event also at the S.E.C after a reported four amateur bouts in Noumea as a teen.

In picking a Mundine victory it has to be said that Anthony will have to defensively tight all the way (without being too respectful) against the dangerous Echols who carries his power in the late rounds and has shown the ability to get up off the floor and win, sooner or later landing something of consequence. If Mundine can hurt Echols (and the Antwun has been vunerable early) he best take care of business.

To be honest, any type of result will not surprise -either way- though I think we will have an answer by the seventh round. If Mundine is positive and has fully recovered from the illness a month back he has the skill to make it a comfortable night.

Referee for the fight is veteran South African Stanley Christodoulou with judges Erkki Mironnen (Denmark) Pinit Prayadasab (Thailand) and Michael Lee (Korea). Co-supervisor's Yangsup Shim (Korea) and Derek Milham (Australia).

Promoter is Tony Mundine, the father and trainer of Anthony who unsuccessfully challenged all time great Carlos Monzon for the WBA Middleweight Title in 1974.

First fight, 7 pm, live on Main Event PPV.

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