Fenech offers to help Mundine
By Grantlee Kieza
June 10, 2005
ANTHONY Mundine still has the talent to regain a world boxing title and his old enemy Jeff Fenech wants to help him on his quest.
Fenech, who until last month was priming Danny Green for a huge fight against Mundine, now says he will offer The Man any help he wants in securing another title opportunity following his points loss to Mikkel Kessler in Sydney on Wednesday night.
Fenech also hinted at a possible legal stoush with Green, the fighter he guided to the WBC Interim super-middleweight title in 2003 but who replaced Fenech with Cuban-born Ismael Salas as his new coach last month.
Fenech is in Washington DC preparing Mike Tyson for a comeback fight against Irishman Kevin McBride on Sunday but followed Mundine's fight with Kessler with great interest.
"I think Anthony will be a world champion again," Fenech said.
"Even though he lost against Kessler he showed a lot of talent to go the distance against a pretty formidable guy.
"I know for a fact that Anthony would easily beat Markus Beyer, who holds the WBC title and just beat Danny Green.
"If Anthony wants the fight with Beyer he only has to call me and I'll do my best with my friends at the WBC and the Beyer camp to get him the opportunity.
"I'm confident I could get him the fight because Anthony is well known in Germany after his bout with Sven Ottke [in 2001]. "He has the perfect style to beat Beyer and would be way too fast for him.
"Anthony has trouble with pressure fighters who can punch but a boxer like Beyer would be a sitting duck for Anthony's fast hands."
Fenech said that while Green had replaced him as his trainer because of Fenech's commitment to Tyson in America, he still believed he had a valid agreement to act as Green's manager.
"I'm the guy who took Danny to the Interim world title and because of me he got over a million dollars to challenge Beyer," Fenech said.
"That kind of money was unheard of for a challenger. Promoters here in America still can't believe the deal I got for him.
"If Danny wants someone else to train him well and good but I should be compensated for all the money I invested in his career, promoting all his early fights and getting him pay days that no one else would get him.
"Danny says he'll never forget what I did for him but if he doesn't want to pay me out what I feel I'm owed as his manager then we will end up in court."
Fenech said he believed a Mundine-Green fight was now closer than ever and would still be an enormous attraction even without a world title at stake. "I think it is still the biggest fight in Australia by far," Fenech said. "And I believe I have helped Danny build a profile from which he will make a huge pay day against Mundine. People will pay to see them fight regardless of whether it's for a world title. The interest around it is huge even among people who don't follow the fight game."
