The Man or The Machine?

As the much anticipated bout between Anthony Mundine and Danny Green grows closer, Thomas George has a look at the two fighters.

When Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine and Danny ‘The Green Machine’ Green fight on the same card on Sunday night at the Challenge Stadium in Perth, Australian boxing fans will be one step closer to seeing a bout between the two that has been years in the making.

Both Mundine and Green are expected to win their bouts against New Zealand’s Rico Chong Nee and veteran Mexican fighter Kirino Garcia, respectively, with Sunday’s card acting as a precursor to a fight between the two expected to take place in early 2006.

The two super-middleweights are among Australia’s boxing elite, with both seeing varied success during their careers.

Mundine, whose record stands at 24-3 (19 by KO), is the former WBA world champion, and Green, 20-2 (19 by KO), at one stage held the WBC interim world title.

Nonetheless neither fighter is content with their current standings in the boxing world, and as the winner of the anticipated bout between the two would be granted No.1 contender status to the IBF world title (currently held by Jeff ‘Left Hook’ Lacy), it goes without saying that the two fighters will be leaving it all in the ring come fight night.

Which begs the question, after so much talking between the two boxers, who will end up with the bragging rights once the two finally step into the ring?

While it would be premature to predict the outcome of the fight at such an early stage, their performances on Sunday night will give a good indication of each fighter’s form coming into the bout.

However, going by past performances and each boxer’s overall strengths and weaknesses, I would have a hard time looking past Danny Green for the win.

Robbed of the WBC title in Germany in late July last year when he thoroughly dismantled Markus Beyer, knocking the champion down twice with devastating blows but was ultimately disqualified due to a clash of heads, Green is yet to show the boxing world his full potential.

Arguably the hardest hitting boxer in the super-middleweight ranks, power and strength are areas where Green is clearly superior to Mundine.

Mundine has extremely quick hand speed, is capable of putting together lightning-fast precise combinations, and during his failed attempt to win back the WBA title belt from Danish champion Mikkel Kessler in June, he has showed he can also absorb some serious punishment and avoid KO.

While Green may not have the same level of speed and agility as Mundine, he is deceptively quick on his feet and should not have any problems keeping up with Mundine in the ring.

For Mundine to win the fight he will have to use his speed and his jab to avoid Green’s right hand at all costs, and hope to go the distance and win on points. If he is unable to do this and the two square-off, the power of ‘The Green Machine’ may be too much for ‘The Man’ to handle.

One thing is for sure, as the boxing and sports commentators become divided on who they predict will win, so will the Australian public on who they want to win.

Mundine has already earned himself a love/hate relationship within Australia. From his outlandish quotes outside the ring, to his showboating antics inside of it, ‘The Man’s brash personality has rubbed some people the wrong way and created fans of others.

Green on the other hand hasn’t received as much of the media spotlight. Preferring to let his fists do most of the talking, his no-nonsense ‘let’s get down to business’ approach has earned him respect, although many simply see him as “the guy who will shut Mundine up”.

Whether he will is yet to be seen.

•  Have a view on this story? Send us your feedback!