Green v Mundine: more than just a boxing match

I’d experienced the speed of the Mundine right first hand, in an exhibition match we’d put on in the local high school, and I’d said then that I’d never seen anything so quick in my life. Indeed, he’d thrown right-hand uppercuts at me that I hadn’t seen at all until they landed.

Even so, along with a host of others, I questioned whether he was tough enough to stand up to the type of power-punching that Green was renowned for. Choc’s father, the legendary Tony Mundine Sr, had been said to have a bit of a glass jaw. Had the son inherited the same fatal chink in his pugilistic armour? If there was such a weakness, Danny Green was certainly the man to expose it.

My prediction changed completely though after I saw Mundine take on Mikkel Kessler. The Chocster lost the fight, but showed a magnanimity in defeat that did his country proud. More to the point, he took some very heavy shots from the great Dane, and never looked seriously rattled. As far as I was concerned, that answered the question. There was no glass jaw.

If I had been a betting man I would have made some money last night. Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the feeling that my late father would be looking down somehow and shaking his head, I would have at least put a tenner on Mundine for a points win and taken home a happy hundred. Even so, to be present at the spectacle - to feel the atmosphere and to see it all first-hand - was worth far more to me than any cash prize.

As the bell sounded and the two men moved to centre ring, gloves up, I had to blink a few times: "It’s really happening. It’s really happening!” Six years in the making, so much talk, so much bravado, so much hype and finally it’s happening.

Green looked a little stiff at first, but he was definitely determined to take it up to Mundine from the word go. He must have known that his best chance for a win was to take his man down early, and in round three he really poured on the juice. Even so, in the same round Mundine started to gain the upper hand - dancing around well to maintain his distance and using his lightning-fast jab to excellent effect.

Green continued to hammer away - relentless and disciplined - working the body of his younger opponent with right hands that looked strong enough to fell the average oak. Even so, the Sydneysider never looked seriously pressured, imitating his hero Ali, dancing around, counter punching and leaning back against the ropes.

In the latter rounds Mundine displayed some of that lightning speed, unleashing a series of dazzling combinations to the head and body of his ageing opponent that had the crowd on their feet. Even so, the relentless Green hung on to the final bell, never backing down, never giving up and never failing to look for the opportunity to throw that knockout right hand that was always there waiting but never found its mark.

It was a magnificent struggle, but we all knew who won the fight, and the score line justly reflected the dominance of the local boy.

Green was magnanimous in defeat, demonstrating once again that he is not simply one of Australia’s great fighters, but one of this country’s great human beings - a credit to his sport and his people.

The man was understandably cocky after his win, having decisively answered an army of critics. He nonetheless showed grace towards his felled opponent and credited him with a great fight - once again, a credit to his sport and to his people.

I left Aussie Stadium with my wife and daughter feeling a sense of exhilaration, and yet there was a sinking feeling in my stomach at the same time that took a little while to identify. Then it struck me: it was the fact that it was all over.