Man triumphed over Machine at Aussie
Stadium last night, with Anthony Mundine winning a clear points decision over
Danny Green, the much-hyped fight lasting the full 12 rounds without the hint
of a knockout.

It wasn’t quite the electric, no-tomorrow
war that the promoters would have had us believe. It was tense and hard and
both Mundine and Green “came to fight”, as they say, but there was surprisingly
little bad blood.

So what did we find out?

Well, the news was mostly bad for Danny. It
was confirmed that if you’re a very slick defensive boxer (especially through
upper body movement) then he isn’t actually good enough to hit you.

But worse, when he did manage to tag
Mundine, The Man didn’t look unduly bothered by it, which must have really
shaken The Green Machine’s camp.

We found out that Mundine is maturing as a
boxer, looking more composed and strategic in each fight, although he still
can’t help but showboat, which may yet catch up with him.

We also found out that Kostya Tszyu, Barry
Michael and Foxtel’s Clinton Grybas are unashamed Mundine fans, given their
histrionics whenever Mundine landed the faintest jab, while any good shots by
Green went more or less unnoticed.

Green will be limping home to Perth but, as was
pointed out by one guy I watched the fight with, maybe he should count his
blessings as well as his earnings. How lucky is Green to have a Mundine-mouthed
nemesis to polarise the nation, excite fight fans and fill a stadium? Green is
still a good, honest, walk-up super middleweight but he’d be a lot less
marketable and have a less impressive bank balance without paydays like last
night.

Which raises the question of a rematch. Of
course it will happen. Green hinted momentarily that he had not been at his
best and was having a slightly off night. Apparently venues in Perth have already
been scoped. Mundine will be there.

Given they now both know the other is
unlikely to KO them and that they can draw a crowd, why not?