I had a chance to catch up with Australian veteran, Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine, ahead of his November 12th bout with unbeaten Sergey Rabchenko. A veteran of 52 professional bouts, Mundine is currently looking to bounce back from a tough loss earlier this year to Joshua Clottey and hopes to put himself in a position to fight the best fighters in the light middleweight division. Topics discussed in this interview include, Mundine’s bout with Sergey Rabchenko, Mundine’s loss to Joshua Clottey, possible future opponents and much more. Here is what Anthony Mundine had to say.

Robert Brown: You got a fight coming up against the undefeated European 154lb champion, Sergey Rabchenko on November 12th at the Melbourne Hisense Arena. How do you feel about the fight coming up?

Anthony Mundine: Yeah man, it’s a great opportunity for me. It’s a fight that I believe I can win and win well. I’m confident in my preparation, I sure left no stone unturned and as long as I turn up mentally on the night, I’ll respond.

Robert Brown: Rabchenko has been very disparaging towards you in the press, saying you’re an old man and that you’re done, he believes he’ll knock you out. Do you think he really believes that or is this just gamesmanship leading up to the fight and do you think he’s reading too much into the Joshua Clottey fight?

Anthony Mundine: If he is, that’s apologies from me. I believe the Clottey fight that wasn’t me. On that night I wasn’t mentally there or physically to a point, where I could see that wasn’t me. That will pull him full into my hands. He believes in himself and he believes in his power but I believe in my ability and like I say to everyone, on my day everyone in the division will have big trouble with me. If he’s banking on the age factor, that’s another plus for me.

Robert Brown: How much do you believe your experience at world title level versus his lack of experience at this level will help you in this fight?

Anthony Mundine: Definitely, I feel there’s levels to boxing. He’s a good, young, strong fighter and obviously I want to test him but the water is gonna be too deep.

Robert Brown: This fight is essentially an eliminator for Floyd Mayweather’s WBC belt but do you believe this fight will open up an opportunity to fight Mayweather, and if you got that opportunity, how do you believe you would go against someone like Mayweather?

Anthony Mundine: It will open up opportunities whether it is Mayweather or whether it’s not Mayweather. If it is and Mayweather fulfills his obligations as far as fighting the mandatory, I feel styles make fights and I feel we have very similar styles, very fast, very good on our feet. It would be a great boxing match but I’m not banking on that. I’m gonna win this fight and then I know opportunities will arise. If it’s not Mayweather, then I would like to fight Saul Alvarez.

Robert Brown: If you get the opportunity to fight Mayweather, Cotto or Alvarez, do you believe you have the ability to match those guys at that level?

Anthony Mundine: One hundred percent, I believe I have the ability to beat them. I’m cut from the same cloth, I’m a rare species and in glimpses I’ve shown that. I haven’t been consistent with it because sometimes mentally I don’t show up but when I’m in there — which I will be there for this one because it’s do or die — I make hard work look like easy work and that’s what the best do.

Robert Brown: After the Clottey loss, when you went back and evaluated it, what was the deciding factor in you thinking that you could go on? Were you just not there mentally, it wasn’t anything to do with reflexes? Is everything still there?

Anthony Mundine: Of course, I’m sparring the best up-and-comers in Australian boxing right now, and not light guys, we’re talking heavyweights, super middleweights. I just have to be there mentally and it’s gonna be a long night for Rabchenko.

Robert Brown: I spoke to Joshua Clottey recently and he believes your weight was a factor against him and that you should perhaps move up to 160lbs. Do you believe that was a factor in your loss to Clottey and do you feel comfortable at 154lbs?

Anthony Mundine: I don’t make excuses but I feel for this fight I’m a lot more on track as far as the weight goes but in saying that, I haven’t been turning up mentally. Joshua was catching me with stuff I never get caught with and I’ve worked on all the fundamentals that I need to work on in order to be on point.

Like I said, the weight’s not gonna be an issue because I’m on top of that better than the Clottey fight. I just gotta make sure I’m on point as far as the fundamentals and when that’s going and I’m on my mojo — which I will have — come two or three rounds into the fight, it’s gonna be easy work.

Robert Brown: You believe this is gonna be an easy fight?

Anthony Mundine: I’m saying I can make it easy once I’m in the zone and I’m there mentally. There’s very few fighters in the world that can match me, that’s what I’m saying. You’re gonna see early that I mean business.

Robert Brown: You’ve been preparing for twelve rounds but what’s your prediction? Do you believe you can knock him out?

Anthony Mundine: I believe I can stop him, yes. I’m not gonna go out for it because when you do go out for it, you tend to load up and not be as accurate. I’m just gonna go out there, do my thing and try to put a beat down on him and the stoppage will come.

Robert Brown: I’d like to thank you for coming out to Melbourne because we don’t get many big fights in Melbourne and I’m looking forward to coming down myself.

Anthony Mundine: Yeah I love Melbourne, it’s the sporting capital of Australia and it’s always a pleasure to fight there.

Robert Brown: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?

Anthony Mundine: I just want to say, big shout out to my fans. I’m doing this for the true fans that believed in me and still buy me even after a loss, the ones that believed in me like I believe in myself. After I get this victory, I don’t want the other fans to jump on board, I just want them to hand me my respect and that’s it.

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Watch Anthony Mundine take on Sergey Rabchenko on Main Event Pay-Per-View this Wednesday, November 12th.

http://www.mainevent.com.au/boxing/mundine-vs-rabchenko-1722/order-now.aspx

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)