Tony Mundine
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | Anthony William Mundine 10 June 1951 Baryulgil, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 30 August 2026 (aged 75) |
| Height | 5' 11½ (182 cm) |
| Weight | Heavyweight Cruiserweight Light heavyweight Middleweight |
| Boxing career | |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 96 |
| Wins | 80 |
| Win by KO | 64 |
| Losses | 15 |
| Draws | 1 |
Anthony William Mundine (10 June 1951 – 30 August 2026) was an Australian boxer and one of the country's most accomplished Indigenous fighters. He was the only Australian boxer to compete professionally in four weight divisions and held the Australian middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight titles, as well as the Commonwealth middleweight and light heavyweight titles. He also challenged once for the World Boxing Association (WBA) world middleweight title in 1974.
Coming from a boxing family, he was the father of former world champion boxer Anthony Mundine, the grandfather of Rahim Mundine and cousin of Warren Mundine.
Early life
Mundine was born in Baryulgil, New South Wales on 10 June 1951.[1][2]
Rugby league
Mundine played centre three-quarter for a Grafton Rugby league team. He showed promise and was offered a place with the Redfern All Blacks in the South Sydney Junior Rugby League in 1968 at age 17. Rather than return to Baryulgil to work at the asbestos mine between seasons, he kept fit at Ern McQuillan's gym in Newtown, Sydney, where he showed natural ability and speed. McQuillan engaged him in a fighter-trainer contract.[3][4][5]
Boxing
Mundine was the only Australian boxer to compete professionally in four weight divisions. He held the Australian middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight titles, as well as the Commonwealth middleweight and light heavyweight titles.[3]
He won his first match on 5 March 1969 against Frank Graham. In his fifth professional bout, Ray Wheatley dropped Mundine in their scheduled ten round contest in round one to become the only Australian to have Mundine on the canvas at the Manly Leagues club in May 1969. Mundine stopped Wheatley in round two. In less than a year he won his first title, the Australian Middleweight crown.[5]
His last bout was against Alex Sua on 19 March 1984.
His titles were:
- Australian Middleweight title, 23 April 1970 against Billy Choules
- Australian Heavyweight title, 25 February 1972 against Foster Bibron
- Commonwealth Middleweight title, 14 April 1972 against Bunny Sterling
- Australian and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight titles, 30 October 1975 against Steve Aczel
- Australian Cruiserweight title, 24 July 1981 against Steve Aczel.[6]
Mundine challenged Carlos Monzón on 5 October 1974 for the WBA World Middleweight title but lost by a knockout in the 7th round. He was undefeated by any Australian boxer during his 16-year career.[7] He fought many top boxers including Emile Griffith, Monty Betham, Steve Aczel, Bennie Briscoe and Alex Sua.[8]
Personal life and death
Mundine was the father of former world champion boxer Anthony Mundine, and a cousin of Warren Mundine.[9]
His older brother Mickey Mundine played in the first Australian Aboriginal rugby league team in 1973.[10]
He lived in Redfern, Sydney, from the 1980s when he founded and managed a training gym called Elouera Tony Mundine Gym.[11]
Tony Mundine died on 30 August 2026, at the age of 75, after suffering a heart attack.[12]
Awards and honours
On 26 January 1986, Mundine was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to sport particularly to boxing and to Aboriginal youth".[13]
Mundine was the winner of the Ella Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sport at the Deadly Awards in 2004.[14]
He was the 2005 inductee in the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns category.
References
- ↑ Kieza, Grantlee (2015). Boxing in Australia. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-642-27874-6.
- ↑ "Mundine, Tony | The Dictionary of Sydney". dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Tony Mundine". A history of aboriginal Sydney. University of Sydney. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- ↑ "How Tony Mundine went from football to boxing". A history of aboriginal Sydney. University of Sydney. 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 Cameron, Dave (June 2006). "The Fighting Mundines From Sydney, Australia". Fight Times Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- ↑ Tony Mundine. Brookvale school
- ↑ Tony Mundine. Turning Sixty
- ↑ Tony Mundine. BoxRec.
- ↑ "Book Review: Warren Mundine's in Black + White is a searing look at Australian history & politics – Arts on the AU". Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ↑ AAP (18 February 1973). "Aboriginal team wins". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: Fairfax Media. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ↑ Smith, Douglas (30 August 2026). "'Sad day in Australian sport': tributes flow for trailblazing boxing great Tony Mundine". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ Terry, Dylan. "Aussie boxing great dies after heart attack as son flies home after passing". news.com.au. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ "Tony Mundine OAM". Australian Honours Database. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
- ↑ Barton, Jacob (29 November 2007). "Tony Mundine". Deadly Vibe. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
External links
- Boxing record for Tony Mundine from BoxRec (registration required)
- Vibe Australia
- The Fighting Mundines From Sydney, Australia
- Welcome to the jungle gym
- Tony Mundine at IMDb
- 1951 births
- 2026 deaths
- People from the Northern Rivers
- Indigenous Australian boxers
- Cruiserweight boxers
- Light-heavyweight boxers
- Middleweight boxers
- Heavyweight boxers
- Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
- Bundjalung people
- Australian male boxers
- Commonwealth Boxing Council champions
- Sportsmen from New South Wales
- 20th-century Australian sportsmen