Briggs Doubts Mundine's Self Belief

[Kegsy]

AUSTRALIA'S world-ranked light heavyweight Paul Briggs has questioned whether Anthony Mundine has the self-belief to defeat champion international boxers Mikkel Kessler or Joe Calzaghe.
Mundine earned a unanimous points decision over tough Argentinean Pablo Zamora Nievas to retain his World Boxing Association super middleweight title on the Gold Coast last night.
In the lead-up to the fight, former rugby league star Mundine spoke confidently about challenging World Boxing Organisation titleholder Calzaghe or undefeated World Boxing Council and WBA champion Kessler in a "super fight".
But Briggs said he doubted whether Mundine, 32, really believed he could beat Denmark's Kessler or Welshman Calzaghe after struggling to put away a courageous Nievas over 12 rounds last night.
"Anthony will talk it up but the reality of the situation is completely different to what he thinks in his head," said Briggs, who watched the bout in his role as a pay TV commentator.
"It'd be great to see him fight like this against the elite guys because I truly think he's got the goods to be able to beat them but does he believe that?
"He's got the skills and he can do it but every time he's really stepped up to the elite guys he's got beaten.
"He talks about never getting beaten again and that's great. It's easy to carry on when you're fighting blokes like he fought last night."
Mundine used his lightning jab and evasive skills in the ring to wear down Nievas, who had never previously gone beyond six rounds.
"It was a frustrating fight in the sense that he (Mundine) couldn't put the guy away and they're the fights that you learn from," Briggs remarked. "It's only going to do him benefit and no harm at all."
Mundine last night described Nievas as "definitely the toughest fighter I've fought in my career".
"It goes to show these so-called experts, they don't know shit," added Mundine, who improved his record to 29-3 (22KO).
"They don't know nothing about the real professional elite stage of sport."
Despite straining a right biceps muscle early in the fight, Mundine was able to outclass his plucky opponent, who was at long odds of $10 to cause an upset.
"I won pretty much every round and I proved I'm one of the superior fighters in the world and I'm only going to get better," boasted Mundine. "My jab is the key. I'm super quick."

[shanemfr]

With his performance against Adamek when he knew he was behind and didn't change his workrate etc,Briggs is the last one to really comment about self belief these days, but he is also stating about Mundine what shit loads of people already knew.

[ipswich express]

Please don't compare 2 wars with Adamek, which he lost by majority decision in both, to Anthony's fight.

[Dr Gonzo]

Please don't compare 2 wars with Adamek, which he lost by majority decision in both, to Anthony's fight.

yeah those 24 rounds are more exciting than 200 mundine fights - briggs is a nut :bbb

[pecks]

Good to see Briggs say these comments. Last time I saw him commentate (Mundine/Soliman 2) it looked as though he might have been heading down the Barry Michaels path as he seemed to be glorifying Mundine a bit too much.

[IrnBruMan]

Mundine last night described Nievas as "definitely the toughest fighter I've fought in my career".
"It goes to show these so-called experts, they don't know shit," added Mundine, who improved his record to 29-3 (22KO).
"They don't know nothing about the real professional elite stage of sport."
"I won pretty much every round and I proved I'm one of the superior fighters in the world and I'm only going to get better," boasted Mundine. "My jab is the key. I'm super quick."

Geez, desperate words from Mundine...you can almost hear that he himself doesn't believe what he's saying :-(

[IrnBruMan]

Good to see Briggs say these comments. Last time I saw him commentate (Mundine/Soliman 2) it looked as though he might have been heading down the Barry Michaels path as he seemed to be glorifying Mundine a bit too much.

He may well have done himself out of some $$ as a sparring partner though :lol:

[PorkChopExpress]

Awesome comments imo and couldn't be said by anyone better... hopefully Mundine hears these comments and takes some note of them and not turn around and say he could KO Briggs in 9 or some shit.

[IrnBruMan]

Awesome comments imo and couldn't be said by anyone better... hopefully Mundine hears these comments and takes some note of them and not turn around and say he could KO Briggs in 9 or some shit.

Mundine isn't known for taking criticism well...in light of what he himself said after the fight last night, I very much doubt he will welcome Briggs' comments, nevermind heed them.

[ashley]

Now thats a fight I would love to see...Mundine VS Briggs at LHW

[Dr Gonzo]

im with you - would be good but i think briggs wouldnt do a hell of a lot better than danny green did for some reason

[VIP]

Definitely he still has some problems with his mentality. I mean he looked so good and confident in his previous few fights against Green and Soliman, but it's still something he needs to work on. Hopefully he gets the big fight Kessler 2 or Calzaghe soon and his legacy can be defined win or lose.

[teke]

I tend to agree with Briggs comments.

However everyone doubted he had the ability or mentality to KO a previously unKO'd fighter in Sam hope that makes sense) :D

[tills9191]

LOOK guys, I DESPISE mundine but i thought his performance against neivas was very good, he moved well, dodged punches well,and as for the KO , well the guy could take a punch, simple as that.. you can't really bag mundine for not ko'ing him, what about kessler against andrade , how much punishement did he take at the hands of kessler, and the guy still didnt go down, and kessler has a lot more power than mundine.. so i think that should silence u guys up..(no offence)
I think mundine looked exceptionally well, and probably wasnt fighting at 100%, put it this way, when your fighting some1 thats not up to your level, obviously, its not gona bring out the best in you..
end of post.
thank you

[IrnBruMan]

LOOK guys, I DESPISE mundine but i thought his performance against neivas was very good, he moved well, dodged punches well,and as for the KO , well the guy could take a punch, simple as that.. you can't really bag mundine for not ko'ing him, what about kessler against andrade , how much punishement did he take at the hands of kessler, and the guy still didnt go down, and kessler has a lot more power than mundine.. so i think that should silence u guys up..(no offence)
I think mundine looked exceptionally well, and probably wasnt fighting at 100%, put it this way, when your fighting some1 thats not up to your level, obviously, its not gona bring out the best in you..
end of post.
thank you

Andrade was ranked a hell of a lot higher than Nievas, and had fought past 6 rounds quite regularly in his 23 fights.

Bottom line is:

Nievas was not a worthy opponent (he was rushed up to top 15 for Mudnine's mandatory) and Mundine beat him in an unimpressive fashion.

[kel]

There were postives and negatives for Mundine on that fight the other night.

I'll be interested in Mundines nxt opponent.

[tills9191]

Not much better than this guy, i can assure u that..We should boycott all Mundine fights, ill be posting a thread on this soon... its in the pipeline..

[teke]

Andrade was ranked a hell of a lot higher than Nievas, and had fought past 6 rounds quite regularly in his 23 fights.

Bottom line is:

Nievas was not a worthy opponent (he was rushed up to top 15 for Mudnine's mandatory) and Mundine beat him in an unimpressive fashion.You keep harping on "the past 6 rds bit" why? he has power and ended his fights before 6 rds and has only lost once.

Good pt Tills about fighting to the level of your opponent, teams that play Souths often dont shine in their win :lol:

[oztriker]

You keep harping on "the past 6 rds bit" why? he has power and ended his fights before 6 rds and has only lost once.

Good pt Tills about fighting to the level of your opponent, teams that play Souths often dont shine in their win :lol:

Now you are telling porky pies......:nono

Apart from 3 fights......all his fights were booked to be 4 or 6 rounds.:patsch

[pecks]

teams that play Souths often dont shine in their win :lol:I bet you enjoyed seeing Souths beat Newcastle in Newcastle last night? :hey

[oztriker]

I tend to agree with Briggs comments.

However everyone doubted he had the ability or mentality to KO a previously unKO'd fighter in Sam hope that makes sense) :D

Not at all........different situation entirely.

He knew that Soliman couldn't hurt him. :deal

[IrnBruMan]

You keep harping on "the past 6 rds bit" why? he has power and ended his fights before 6 rds and has only lost once.

Good pt Tills about fighting to the level of your opponent, teams that play Souths often dont shine in their win :lol:

The bloke had only ever been pencilled in for 1 8-rder and 2 10-rdrs before he fought Mundine teke.

That kind of indicates he wasn't exactly proven at full distance pro-fighting yet :think

Lucky Nievas though, his first 12 rd fight and he lasts the distance agains the #3 SMW in the world :yep

[teke]

The bloke had only ever been pencilled in for 1 8-rder and 2 10-rdrs before he fought Mundine teke.

That kind of indicates he wasn't exactly proven at full distance pro-fighting yet :think

Lucky Nievas though, his first 12 rd fight and he lasts the distance agains the #3 SMW in the world :yepoh ok.

Well yeah I see your pt now.

Being a fan of Mundine it's really a sad to see him fight someone who just got elevated in rank in a split second and then go on to bruise him. He most probably ruined Nievas career not that he was bound for stardom. Hope Nievas continues to make some dollars.

[pecks]

The bloke had only ever been pencilled in for 1 8-rder and 2 10-rdrs before he fought Mundine teke.

That kind of indicates he wasn't exactly proven at full distance pro-fighting yet It's like telling a person who knows CPR to perform brain surgery. :p

[teke]

It's like putting a person who knows CPR to perform brain surgery. :p:lol:

[oztriker]

It's like putting a person who knows CPR to perform brain surgery. :p

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

You're on fire tonight.......musta scored a root last night....eh?:hey

[IrnBruMan]

oh ok.

Well yeah I see your pt now.

Being a fan of Mundine it's really a sad to see him fight someone who just got elevated in rank in a split second and then go on to bruise him. He most probably ruined Nievas career not that he was bound for stardom. Hope Nievas continues to make some dollars.

now I know you're carrying on like a half-baked smarty but I'll put it down to the rugby tonight :yep

[pecks]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

You're on fire tonight.......musta scored a root last night....eh?:heyUnfortunately I didn't. I must be still smarting from the handy earlier on in the week.
No more of that though, she's gone back to Japan. :-(

[oztriker]

oh ok.

Well yeah I see your pt now.

Being a fan of Mundine it's really a sad to see him fight someone who just got elevated in rank in a split second and then go on to bruise him. He most probably ruined Nievas career not that he was bound for stardom. Hope Nievas continues to make some dollars.

You really are a caring thoughtful Kiwi.:D

What a nice bloke.:good

[teke]

now I know you're carrying on like a half-baked smarty but I'll put it down to the rugby tonight :yep:lol: Nah man Im being serious. I see and agree with your pt.

I know Im a smart arse most of the time but i will always tell the truth when confronted with a question that requires an honest answer.

[IrnBruMan]

:lol: Nah man Im being serious. I see and agree with your pt.

I know Im a smart arse most of the time but i will always tell the truth when confronted with a question that requires an honest answer.

:lol:

[sean]

IMO briggs has it right.

you have to question to some degree how mundine will fight when he goes in against kessler or say calzaghe.

will he box more defensivley in his shell or will he open up and throw more combinations and be willing to stay in the pocket more to get more shots off.

only way he beats kessler and calzaghe is to do this.

its not mundine`s abilty , it is his willingmness to put himself on the line and take chances to win .

i saw mundine beat echolls and it was clear that mundine could have really done a number on echolls and impressed but he played it safe.

i saw mundine fight siacca, who really is an average boxer , but he put mundine down in the 2nd and mundine went into his shell, when he should have proceded to dust himself down , not worry about it and outbox and outskill siacca from that point on, yet mundine boxed most probably his worst ever fight from that point , clearly reluctent to mix it up at all.

thats why briggs said what he said.

until mundine comes out and gives a solimon or green type performance v an overseas qualified fighter then the question marks remain over his mindset.

on the plus side i have seen fighters, johnny nelson being the obvious one , when comparing to mundine , who turned in many lacklustre cautious fights early on in his career when moved up (some real stinkers ), and he turned it around in his 30`s and started standing his ground and letting his hands go and using his considerable skills and went unbeaten in 7 years as a champ.

nelson`s problems were all in his head as well and he managed to get over it.