Brian Amatruda talks Mundine vs. Rabchenko, plans for ‘The Bashes’

 
WITH less than a week to go before the high-stakes clash with title implications between former two-division titlist Anthony Mundine and undefeated Belarusian Sergey Rabchenko, event promoter Brian Amatruda of Big Time Boxing speaks with excitement before what is without a doubt his biggest card yet.

 
Having promoted a stack of high-profile cards over the course of his seven years as a boxing promoter, Amatruda has promoted some of the biggest events Australian boxing has seen in recent years. With that said, Amatruda was thrilled at the prospect of working with Anthony Mundine, who is arguably the biggest name in Australian boxing.

 
“Anthony approached me so he could concentrate on his boxing, there’s no secret, this will probably be his last fight if he loses,” said Amatruda. “We work with Hatton Promotions fairly closely, who promote Sergey Rabchenko, so I offered Anthony the opportunity to fight Rabchenko.”

 
“It’s a very hard fight for him and one thing that people need to understand, he’s never wanted to take an easy fight, regardless of the public perception that he takes easy fights” Amatruda explained. “It’s probably his handlers who have wanted him to fight a little bit softer and in this particular case, Anthony wants to fight the best.”

 
“He jumped at the opportunity and now he has an opportunity, that basically, makes him Floyd Mayweather’s mandatory. People have laughed at it, but that’s a fact.”

 
Mundine, 39, and Rabchenko, 28, will face off on Wednesday night at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena for the Belarusian’s WBC Silver light middleweight title, with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for Floyd Mayweather’s coveted WBC strap.

 
While it is unlikely that Mayweather will face the winner and will more than likely vacate, the winner will still be in an enviable position, with the likes of Mexican superstar Saul Alvarez amongst many others looking to challenge for the title, if it is indeed vacated.

 
With Mundine (46-6, 27 KOs) coming off a one-sided points decision to Joshua Clottey in April, Amatruda was unsure of what to expect from Mundine against the hard-hitting Rabchenko (25-0, 18 KOs), but believes he will be a far more dangerous version of the fighter we saw against Clottey.

 
“The old Anthony would’ve beaten this guy – but it’s hard to say – against Mosley two fights ago, he looked brilliant, but in his last fight he just looked old,”

 
“Anthony says he didn’t take it serious, he didn’t train, he didn’t even wear boxing boots to the ring,” Amatruda added. “He thought he was going to blow the guy (Clottey) away.”

 
“He went to America like he promised he would do, he sparred at Robert Garcia’s gym against guys like Marco Antonio Rubio. My reports from people at the moment is that Mundine is absolutely killing them,”

 
“It’s the best he’s looked for ten years.”

 
In an era where cards are sometimes placed on pay-per-view undeservedly, Amatruda has stacked the televised card from top-to-bottom. Despite having a genuine main event as well as a semi-main event that is almost certain to produce fireworks – Amatruda has done the right thing by the boxing purist – giving the fans true value for their hard-earned dollar.

 
“The undercard is action packed, we’ve got Lenny Zappavigna, who we think is the most exciting fighter in Australia and we’ve got an arrangement to promote all of his fights,” Amatruda said. “This fight is a world title eliminator for him, he’s fighting a Mexican (Misael Castillo) whose had twenty-six wins for twenty-four knockouts,”

 
“One thing about Lenny is that he doesn’t take a backwards step and if you put him on a card, he’s in the most exciting fight on the night.”

 
Zappavigna, 27, will put his IBF #5 and WBO #6 world ratings on the line, as well as his recently acquired WBO Oriental light welterweight strap, when he is challenged by Mexican wildcard Misael Castillo (26-3, 24 KOs).

 
“We also have Kye MacKenzie, whose arguably the hottest prospect in Australia at the moment,” he continued. “Kye is an aggressive fighter who is fighting Clive Atwell, who fought for the WBC world title in his last fight against Jhonny Gonzalez in Mexico.”

 
“There’s another great fight.”

 
MacKenzie (12-0, 10 KOs) will take the step up to regional honours, also challenging for the WBO Oriental title against former world title challenger Clive Atwell (12-1, 7 KOs). MacKenzie, 22, is arguably the hottest prospect in Australian boxing and unlike many, he has shown an appetite to challenge only the best fighters available.

 
“We’ve also got as well as that, a fight between Anthony Buttigieg and Joel Camilleri, which could potentially be the Victorian fight of the year. Lucas Browne is also fighting on the card as well, he’s fighting Chauncy Welliver – whose never been knocked down – which is the point of this fight too.”

 
While the fight between Commonwealth heavyweight champion Lucas Browne and formerly world-rated Chauncy Welliver is flying under the radar, the big-punching Browne is looking to cap off an overly impressive year.

 
Amatruda also mentioned the introduction of a possible annual series, titled ‘The Bashes’, where Australian boxers will challenge their English counterparts in a knockout-style tournament.

 
“We were approached by Hatton Promotions, where Ricky actually came out to Melbourne and we had a meeting where we formed an agreement,” Amatruda said. “The concept is called ‘The Bashes’,”

 
“It’ll be sold by Ricky in England, where he has a bunch of ambassadors, but fought in Australia. We also have plans to work with Mike Tyson (Iron Mike Productions) in the future, so that way we have three continents covered,”

 
“We’re looking forward to a great partnership with Hatton Promotions in the future and we treat it like a partnership.”

 
 
Photo: Louie Abigail/Photography by Rockfingrz