I also don't know exactly what happened, but Echols makes some fair comments regarding Mundine in this article from
Saddoboxing
Mundine takes a battering
ANTWUN ECHOLS has questioned the toughness of Anthony Mundine, while "The Man's" camp is wearing a six-figure loss after the postponement of their super middleweight world title bout.
The fight has now been officially re-scheduled for September 3 after Mundine withdrew because of a viral infection.
Asked if he had a message for Mundine, Echols said: "Get well . . . soon."
Questioned whether he now thought less of Mundine, Echols said: "Not as a fighter but as a person I think he could have went forth with this fight if he had the heart of a lion as he said he did."
Echols said he would still have fought had he been suffering from the same complaint as Mundine, claiming the only three of his wins which weren't knockouts came when he had "colds and the sniffles".
"Last week at the press conference he let his mouth overload his behind and all the people that was behind him, he let them down because a true champion two days before the fight would not have done anything like this," Echols said.
Echols' attorney Lamont Jones said the boxer's camp had considered staying in Sydney until September 3 but some had family commitments.
Mundine's father Tony said yesterday his son was in bed obeying a "do nothing" instruction from Australian National Boxing Federation medical officer Lou Lewis, who said the stricken fighter would be able to resume training early next week.
Mundine sen. said it had been a big decision for he and Anthony to postpone the bout, but he didn't want his son going into the fight at "75 or 80 per cent, feeling no good" and "gasping for breath".
"Anthony is very disappointed, because there's a lot of stakes involved - TV and cancelling a lot of stuff," Tony Mundine said.
Manager Khoder Nasser said the Mundines were looking forward rather than back and accepted their losses.
"They've lost over $100,000, but in the end these things happen in boxing and you've got to take it," Nasser said.
A compensation package still had to be arranged for Echols.
Jones explained: "Antwun has been greatly inconvenienced, he's got to pay sparring partners, so he needs additional compensation to defray those sort of expenses."
August 06, 2003 -
AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS