When it comes to Australian boxing there is no man more revered than Anthony Mundine.
Coming to the sport following an illustrious NRL career, Mundine dominated the national boxing scene for the best part of a decade, winning four titles in three different weight divisions and sporting an impressive record of 48-11.
A journey filled with incredible stories and valuable life lessons, the community at Mooroopna’s Goulburn Valley Boxing were fortunate enough to host ‘‘The Man’’ on Tuesday night, where he ran a training session and shared his wisdom in a Q&A.
His first trip to the Goulburn Valley, Mundine explained how the night came about.
“One of my brother boys was telling me about the gym here in Mooroopna and how well they do with the young boys and asked if I would be open to coming up and having a yarn and I jumped at the opportunity,” Mundine said.
“I have really enjoyed being up here, one of the brothers took me around and we went up to the Indigenous footy club Rumbalara, went to the museum, and it was great to learn a bit about the culture up here.”
Having experienced the highs and lows of professional sport, he detailed some of the lessons he hoped to impart on the crowd at GV Boxing and what’s required to get to the elite level.
“It is all about imparting my wisdom on the community here and sharing my story, you know, Mundine style,” he said.
“I was a young urban Aboriginal boy with a dream, firstly in rugby league and then in boxing, I didn’t have that pedigree, but I had a dream and I was willing to do anything to make that dream a reality.
“Through hard work and dedication I manifested it, it is all about just having that belief in yourself, I became a four-time world champion in a sport that was supposed to be a part-time gig, so my message to the kids is just that anything is possible if you believe.”
Along with his insights into professional sport, Mundine’s presentation also delved into some valuable life lessons, as he hoped to become a role model for these up-and-coming local fighters.
“I think it is very important (to travel to regional areas), I want to give people hope and get them believing in themselves,” he said.
“I want to be a role model for communities around the country and teach life lessons as well, these kids get to an age where peer pressure is a massive thing, there are a lot of social poisonings, so I want inspire the crowd here to be leaders.”
While a lot of his presentation centred on educating and being a leader, Mundine also had time to tell some of the remarkable stories from his sporting career.
He lifted the lid on some of the highlights of his illustrious journey.
“In terms of league, probably playing in three grand finals and being able to play State of Origin as well,” he said.
“And then in boxing, just winning the world titles, that is my biggest accomplishment and something I’m very proud of.”