- Mundine is hosting a venture in Brisbane this September
- Adamant it is actually safer than fighting with gloves
- ‘The Man’ pointed to less head trauma for fighters
Former world super-middleweight champion Anthony Mundine has urged the Australian public to embrace what he dubbed the ‘purest form of fighting’, bare-knuckle boxing.
Mundine, 50, launched his venture this week ahead of the World Bare Knuckle Fighting card in Brisbane this September.
‘I just want to put on the best shows, the best fights, and have the best entertainment and bring something different. There’s something new. That’s why I got involved,’ he said.
‘I’m a pioneer of a lot of things, and this is another thing that I’m pioneering.
‘The fans are going to go crazy…it will sell out pretty fast. ‘We are looking to bring an amazing show. An exciting, explosive show. And we can’t wait.’
Also speaking on Channel 9’s Today with Karl Stefanovic, ‘The Man’ stated bare-knuckle boxing is the ‘purest form of fighting’ in his eyes – and actually safer than entering the ring with gloves on due to less head trauma.
‘Look at the statistics,’ he said. ‘We will also have paramedics and doctors ringside.’
Meanwhile, Mundine remains adamant his close friend Sonny Bill Williams won his recent bout against NRL legend Paul Gallen.
Former world super-middleweight champion Anthony Mundine has urged the Australian public to embrace what he dubbed the ‘purest form of fighting’, bare-knuckle boxing
Mundine, 50, launched the venture this week ahead of the World Bare Knuckle Fighting card in Brisbane this September (pictured, fighting Garth Wood in 2011)
In May, Mundine attended his first official rugby league function in 25 years, after wanting nothing to do with the sport following his retirement in 2000 (pictured, playing for the Dragons in 1998)
‘I thought he (Williams) outpointed him easily,’ he said.
‘And look at Gallen’s face compared to Sonny’s once the bout was over.’
In May, Mundine attended his first official rugby league function in 25 years following his shock retirement in 2000 to boldly pursue a boxing career.
Mundine burst onto the footy scene in the mid 1990s, signing with the Dragons at just 18 and making his first grade debut the following year.
By the end of the decade he was a State of Origin representative with the NSW Blues, and his electrifying ability suggested he might go on to become one of the all-time greats.
However, he walked away from the game in 2000 after growing disillusioned and bitter.
‘The Man’ then made an emotional return at NSWRL’s True Blues Ball in Sydney, rubbing shoulders with his ‘brothers’, Spencer Leniu and Stephen Crichton.
