Anthony Mundine is a crossover sports star, highly popular and controversial in Australia. Mundine has a future goal of becoming a boxing champion in the US, at the moment his popularity is only well known in Australia.
Anthony Mundine began playing Rugby League with the St George Dragons. Several years into his highly successful career he was the highest paid player in the game, earning between $600 000 and $700 000 per season. Despite many being critical of his switch to boxing, giving up such as high salary in League. The popularity that his transformation to becoming a professional boxer generated in Australia, led to a pro debut purse of close to half a million dollars. From there Mundine continued to polarize Australian sporting fans with brash and arrogant antics, creating a long list of supporters and people that could also be categorized as non-supporters.
Despite showing obvious talent from early on in his career, Mundine quickly gained respect in boxing. Brutally knocking out a long list of domestic talent before challenging reigning world champion Sven Ottke in Germany. Mundine was knocked out in the 10th round of this bout but he came back to Australia winning several bouts domestically. Mundine then made another shot at the world title and eventually beat Antwun Echols in Sydney in front of a rousing Sydney crowd. Mundine claimed the WBA Super Middleweight championship in a bout many expected him to lose, even his most loyal fans. Echols was well known for his relentless pressure and power, he narrowly lost a few close bouts to Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins went on to describe these losses as the toughest of his career.
Since then Mundine lost that title and has then gone on to reclaim world title belts at Middleweight and Junior Middleweight. Becoming the first fighter in the history of the sport to win titles in three descending weight divisions. This is popular due to the nature of rugby league, which make players bulk up with extensive weights due to the tough and high strength focus of the game. Mundine was playing rugby league at 88kg's and he's now fighting as low as 70kg's. His trademark speed and power remains in his old age.
Mundine has just beaten Shane Mosley and Sergey Rabchenko and despite losing to highly rated Joshua Clottey in Newcastle, Mundine has the ambitions and goals of becoming a star in the US boxing market. Anthony Mundine's net worth is currently estimated to being between $30-$50m. His claim to wealth has been hard work and never drinking or gambling, which has also helped him intelligently continue to amass large wealth in Australia.
