Mundine vents his frustrations
A FIRED-UP Anthony Mundine sees more than a rival boxer when he looks at Jeff Horn.
He sees everything he has stood against in his 18-year professional boxing career.
Most importantly he sees a fighter he doesn’t think deserves the hype about him.
“It’s not personal, he just stands for and represents everything I fight,” Mundine said at yesterday’s Brisbane weigh-in, where both men comfortably came in under the 71kg catchweight for tonight’s fight at Suncorp Stadium.
“Injustice. He’s the recipient of it. He wants to wave the flag. He wants to play the anthem … when he doesn’t understand himself.”
Tensions between the two flared at the weigh-in when Mundine grabbed Horn by the throat as the pair faced off.
A quick shove and some light punches to Horn’s trainer Glenn Rushton’s open palm and the scuffle was done.
Mundine attributed his aggression to being ready to fight, an argument given credence by his animalistic roar after tipping the scales at 70.25kg.
Mundine stood to face a significant financial penalty if he didn’t make the weight but said afterwards he’s like a caged animal ready to pounce.
“I wanted to show them that not only was I gonna make the weight but I was going to make it comfortably,” he said.
Horn weighed in at 70.5kg, well above the welterweight marks he’s had to strip weight for in the past.
The 30-year-old, who is taking all the risk into a fight he knows he has to win after his loss to American Terence Crawford in June, shook off Mundine’s aggression.
Horn’s camp feel 43-yearold Mundine, who only fought once in America in his career, is jealous of the opportunities his opponent has enjoyed.
Of all the barbs Mundine has thrown at Horn in the past few weeks, the suggestion he’s had an easy ride to the top or is undeserving of his reputation is the one that has hit home.
“It’s been such a hard journey to get to where I am, it hasn’t been easy and he talks about how easy I’ve got it and how easy I’ve had in the past to get to where I am,” Horn said.
Tonight’s main event is scheduled to start about 10.30pm.