SOLIMAN BOWS OUT IN STYLE

HE’S happily retired, but triple world champion Sam Soliman concedes one man could entice him to put the gloves back on.

Bowing out of boxing with the WBF World Middleweight belt around his waist, Soliman said a fourth bout with fierce rival Anthony Mundine would be enough for him to temporarily come out of retirement.

Drawing a close to his decorated career with 46 wins (19 by knockout) from 63 fights, Melburnian Soliman admitted his 0-3 record against Mundine remained a sore point.

“I outboxed him and the judges gave the fight to him and it didn’t bother me one bit because it was a Mundine promotion and it was always going to be that way,” Soliman said.

“We rematched and he stopped me in the second fight, so I can’t dispute that one, and the third fight was close, it could’ve done either way.

“I fought him at my weight, and the only reason I would put the gloves back on, if he was to come down to my weight but he hasn’t done that in the 10 years we’ve been fighting.

“It’s always been at his weight and he doesn’t have the guts to fight at my weight, but if he did, that would be a different story.”

Regaining the middleweight crown with a unanimous decision victory (120108, 118-110, 118-110) over Mark Lucas last Friday night, Soliman brought his 22-year boxing career to a close with a third world championship.

Soliman finished with an incredible 555 rounds in the ring, a feat that puts him ahead of some of boxing’s all time greats including Bernard Hopkins (514), Manny Pacquiao (462), Floyd Mayweather (397) and Mike Tyson (215).

In 2014, he reached the pinnacle title of the sport — an IBF belt at 40 years of age — making him the only Australian and among a handful of notable international boxers, including George Foreman and Bernard Hopkins, to have accomplished such a feat at that age.

Soliman was made to work hard for his final victory, but he put on a fast and powerful display to outpoint Lucas.

He said family commitments prompted retirement.