Anthony Mundine admits choking Jeff Horn was all just for show - but his former club still left him 'heartbroken' by refusing to screen the fight

  • Anthony Mundine amped up his fight with Jeff Horn in the weeks before Friday
  • He tried to choke his opponent at the weigh-in and shot his mouth off constantly
  • Aboriginal fighter also said national anthem was 'white supremacist' 
  • Despite the hype, Mundine was knocked out by Horn after just 96 seconds 

By Nic White and Alex Chapman For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 20:45 EST, 30 November 2018 | Updated: 21:31 EST, 30 November 2018

Anthony Mundine admits his trash talk and bizarre antics in the lead-up to his fight with Jeff Horn was all faked to get boxing fans to watch.

The much-hyped bout at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night was over in just 96 seconds when a clearly overmatched Mundine was floored.

The 43-year-old built up the match, his last as a professional, by shooting his mouth off for days leading up to it - drawing 25,000 people to the stands.

At the weigh-in on Thursday, Mundine suddenly grabbed Horn by the throat as the pair faced off, with both camps rushing in to split the rivals 

At the weigh-in on Thursday, Mundine suddenly grabbed Horn by the throat as the pair faced off, with both camps rushing in to split the rivals 

Horn said the outburst was sparked by him responding to yet more trash talk by Mundine as tempers flared while they faced off
'I said, ''I hope you are ready'', because he was talking about, ''you're going down tomorrow night, you're going to get a boxing lesson'',' Horn said.

Horn said the outburst was sparked by him responding to yet more trash talk by Mundine as tempers flared while they faced off 

'All the smack talk, all the s**t I talk, you have to build the fight. We're in the entertainment business and I'm trying to get bums on seats and get people talking,' he said after the fight.

'Obviously a lot of people don't like it. You're going to get detractors and lovers.

'It's part of the game and I'm glad I've really united something for these guys to earn some big dollars.

'But I'm all good. That's boxing. You just get caught sometimes.'

His strategy worked in that thousands forked out $60 on pay-per-view to watch the fight - pushing the prize money above $2.5 million.

However, it didn't work on his old club, St George Leagues in Kograh, which refused to buy it and screen it. 

Weeks before, the Aboriginal boxer ignited controversy by declaring he would refuse to stand for the national anthem because it was racist

Weeks before, the Aboriginal boxer ignited controversy by declaring he would refuse to stand for the national anthem because it was racist

Mundine then held held a bizarre press conference standing in a wheelie bin during a training session in Logan, Queensland

Mundine then held held a bizarre press conference standing in a wheelie bin during a training session in Logan, Queensland

At the weigh-in on Thursday, Mundine suddenly grabbed Horn by the throat as the pair faced off, with both camps rushing in to split the rivals.

'I didn't mean to harm him, I'm just ready to go. I'm like a caged lion right now. I'm ready to eat him, I'm ready to go,' Mundine said afterwards.

Horn said the outburst was sparked by him responding to yet more trash talk by Mundine as tempers flared while they faced off. 

'I said, ''I hope you are ready'', because he was talking about, ''you're going down tomorrow night, you're going to get a boxing lesson'',' Horn said. 

Mundine's old leagues club refuses to screen his fight with Jeff Horn

Anthony Mundine's old leagues club refused to show his big fight with Jeff Horn on Friday.

St George Leagues in Kogarah did not buy the pay-per-view screening on Main Event, despite its popularity with other venues.

'It's heartbreaking and it’s an insult,' Mundine said before the fight.

'I started there as a 15-year-old in their junior reps. Maybe the club is struggling to know what their members and customers want.'

The hotly-anticipated fight was the third most popular boxing match among Australian pubs and clubs.

Boxing promoter Dean Lonergan was shocked at the number of people who packed the stands and paid to tune in. 

'I'll say this about Choc - I’ve never worked with a boxer who promotes fights like he does. In that regard he’s the best,' he told the Sunday Telegraph.

Weeks before, the Aboriginal boxer ignited controversy by declaring he would refuse to stand for the national anthem because it was racist.

'It's a white supremacist song and people don't know that because they are not educated on it,' he said.

Mundine then held held a bizarre press conference standing in a wheelie bin during a training session in Logan, Queensland.

'I'm going to eat him up, I'm going to slice him up, dice him up like tomatoes, and I'm going to eat him real good,' he told reporters.

Hours of anticipation culminated into a 96th second left hook at the 'River City Rumble'

Hours of anticipation culminated into a 96th second left hook at the 'River City Rumble'

The day before the fight, Mundine made a racial slur after against Horn when he was asked against about his views on the national anthem.

'I don't want the anthem to play, I made my stance very clear on that,' he said.

'They want to play a white supremacist song at an event that I'm involved in... I don't want it to be played.'  

When a reporter told Mundine that Horn wanted the anthem played, he responded saying: 'Well he's the cracker they want him to be, you feel me.' 

Mundine was much more contrite after the match - his job drumming up interest done and riches to follow - confirming his career was over.

'I'm 43 - I'm not 23 - you know what I mean,' he said.

'If I was bit younger, bit fresher, maybe things might have been better but that's the way it goes man.'

Mundine's career came to a crashing end after the knock out blow was delivered by Horn

Mundine's career came to a crashing end after the knock out blow was delivered by Horn

Pre-fight Mundine had hinted his career may continue if he beat Horn and opened the door to further big pay-days.

But no amount of money is going to get him back in the ring now, he said.

'Nah man, I'm done. That's life man. You can't cry over it, it's meant to be and we've got to move on,' he said. 

After all the hype, audiences were universally let down by the extremely short and one-sided contest.

The pair pocketed a staggering $26,000 per second - $2.5 million total - leaving fans who sat through five hours of anticipation outraged. 

'Hope all the people who paid $60 for the Horn Mundine fight get their money back. What a waste,' one angry fan wrote on Twitter, referencing the $59 fee those who wanted to watch the fight had to pay.

'People paid 67 cents per second to watch that fight tonight,' another wrote.

Multiple body blows forced Mundine onto the back foot from the very start of the fight

Multiple body blows forced Mundine onto the back foot from the very start of the fight

Horn  said he was 'expecting a tough fight' from the 43-year-old Mundine, known as Choc

Other fans wrote they felt cheated that Mundine, 43, went down after a glancing punch from Horn.

'He barely got hit.... He looked out of it, so either its a dive and a heck of an actor or he has a glass jaw that wind breaks,' one fan wrote on Facebook.

'Super dive... he took a body punch but his head was rocked???' another questioned.

But one punter defended the former rugby league player, writing: 'Go take a left hook from Jeff Horn and tell us again how it wasn't a hard hit.'

Horn dominated Mundine from the first bell until the referee waved him off 96 seconds later.

Crippling body blows were followed by a massive left hook, which connected with Mundine's face and sent him sprawling to the floor.

Even Horn was surprised the fight was over so quickly.

'I was expecting a tough fight from Choc [Mundine],' he said. 'I'm very, very happy with the result… to finish it off in a minute and a half.

'I guess I learnt that from my last fight, I was a little bit too stationary.'

Horn, who came into the fight heavily criticised for not adapting, said he learnt to be more mobile after losing his last two fights

Horn, who came into the fight heavily criticised for not adapting, said he learnt to be more mobile after losing his last two fights

Mundine congratulated Horn after the fight, saying he was the 'next generation of boxing'

Mundine congratulated Horn after the fight, saying he was the 'next generation of boxing'

But while the controversial boxer's defeat was welcomed by many, the swiftness of it wasn't. 

Walking to the ring, Mundine smiled as he stepped through the ropes with NRL player James Roberts one member of an entourage draped in the Aboriginal flag.

Horn followed him with raucous applause coming from the hometown crowd while the song One Nation Army by the White Stripes played.

Potential controversy was avoided as the organisers announced the national anthem would not be played due to time constraints - the fight already beginning more than 30 minutes behind schedule.

Mundine had heavily opposed the national anthem, calling it a 'white supremacy' song.

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Anthony Mundine admits his trash talk, bizarre antics and choking Jeff Horn were all just for show

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