Tony Mundine (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Anthony "Tony" William Mundine OAM
(born 10 June 1951) is one of Australia's boxing
legends and one of the greatest Indigenous fighters. He held the Australian middleweight
, light heavyweight
, cruiserweight and heavyweight
titles and Commonwealth
middleweight and Light heavyweight titles and is the only Australian boxer to compete in four weight divisions. He fought Carlos Monzón
on 5 October 1974 for the World middleweight title but lost by a Knockout
in the 7th round. No Australian boxer ever beat him in his 16 year career and at his best was a magnificently muscled athlete with knockout power in both hands.
He fought many top notch boxers including Monty Betham
, Steve Aczel, Bennie Briscoe
and Alex Sua.
He played centre three-quarter for a Grafton
Rugby League
team, and showed promise and was offered a place with the Redfern
'All Blacks' in the South Sydney Junior Rugby League in 1968 when he was 17. With the desire to keep fit he began visiting Ern McQuillan's gym in Newtown
where his natural ability and speed showed on the punching bag. McQuillan seen within him a promise of something better to come with expert tuition and so a fighter-trainer contract began with McQuillan.
In 1973, Tony's older brother Micky Mundine was a rugby league
footballer who played in the first Australian Aboriginal rugby league team
.
Tony currently lives in Redfern
where he manages a training gym adjacent to The Block
and is the father and boxing
trainer
/promoter
of Anthony Mundine
, guiding him to the world title bouts he himself had aspired to.
On 26 January 1986 was he awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
for "service to sport particularly to boxing and to aboriginal youth". He was the winner of The Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Sport at The Deadlys
in 2004.
and retired after his last bout against Alex Sua 19 March 1984.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 10 June 1951) is one of Australia's boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
legends and one of the greatest Indigenous fighters. He held the Australian middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
, light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
, cruiserweight and heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
titles and Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
middleweight and Light heavyweight titles and is the only Australian boxer to compete in four weight divisions. He fought Carlos Monzón
Carlos Monzón
Carlos Monzón was an Argentine professional boxer who held the undisputed world middleweight title for 7 years, during which he successfully defended the title 14 times....
on 5 October 1974 for the World middleweight title but lost by a Knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in the 7th round. No Australian boxer ever beat him in his 16 year career and at his best was a magnificently muscled athlete with knockout power in both hands.
He fought many top notch boxers including Monty Betham
Monty Betham (boxer)
Monty Betham was a professional boxer who fought boxers such as Tony Mundine, father of Anthony Mundine, Lance Revill, Carlos Marks,Greg McNamara and Semi Bula in a professional career beginning in 1973 up until 1984...
, Steve Aczel, Bennie Briscoe
Bennie Briscoe
"Bad" Bennie Briscoe was the quintessential Philadelphia boxer."Bad" Bennie fought from 1962 to 1982, and retired with a career record of 66 wins 24 losses and 5 draws. Briscoe was a top-rated Middleweight contender during the 1970s, unsuccessfully challenging for the World Title on three...
and Alex Sua.
He played centre three-quarter for a Grafton
Grafton, New South Wales
The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valley. Established in 1851, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and the Clarence Valley can be reached...
Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team, and showed promise and was offered a place with the Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
'All Blacks' in the South Sydney Junior Rugby League in 1968 when he was 17. With the desire to keep fit he began visiting Ern McQuillan's gym in Newtown
Newtown, New South Wales
Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
where his natural ability and speed showed on the punching bag. McQuillan seen within him a promise of something better to come with expert tuition and so a fighter-trainer contract began with McQuillan.
In 1973, Tony's older brother Micky Mundine was a rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer who played in the first Australian Aboriginal rugby league team
Australian Aboriginal rugby league team
The Australia Aboriginal rugby league team is a rugby league football team that represents Australian Aborigines...
.
Tony currently lives in Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
where he manages a training gym adjacent to The Block
The Block (Sydney)
The Block is a colloquial but universally applied name given to a block of housing in Redfern Sydney. The block was purchased over a period of 30 years by the Aboriginal Housing Company for use as a project in Aboriginal-managed housing....
and is the father and boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
trainer
Athletic trainer
An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association as an allied health care profession since 1990....
/promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
of Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine is an Australian professional boxer and former rugby league footballer.He is the current interim WBA Light Middleweight Champion boxer, former two-time WBA Super Middleweight Champion, former IBO Middleweight Champion and New South Wales State of Origin representative footballer....
, guiding him to the world title bouts he himself had aspired to.
On 26 January 1986 was he awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for "service to sport particularly to boxing and to aboriginal youth". He was the winner of The Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
and Torres Strait Islander Sport at The Deadlys
The Deadlys
The Deadlys are an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Vibe Australia hosts the awards, which for have been held at the Sydney Opera House since 2001. The first Deadly awards were held in 1995...
in 2004.
Career
First bout 5 March 1969 against Frank GrahamFrank Graham
Francis or Frank Graham may refer to:*Frank Graham , New York sportswriter*Frank D. Graham , writer of Audel guides*Frank Porter Graham , Democratic Senator from North Carolina, 1949–1950...
and retired after his last bout against Alex Sua 19 March 1984.
- Won Australian Middleweight title 23 April 1970 against Billy Choules
- Won Australian Heavyweight title 25 February 1972 against Foster Bibron
- Won Commonwealth Middleweight title 14 April 1972 against Bunny Sterling
- World Middleweight title lost KO by 7 Carlos Monzón 5 October 1974
- Won Australian and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight titles 30 October 1975 against Steve Aczel
- Won Australian Cruiserweight title 24 July 1981 against Steve Aczel.