Outspoken boxer Anthony Mundine has expressed his sympathies to Danny Green following the 38-year-old’s 11th round loss to defending WBC cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.
And The Public Apology can reveal that this uncharacteristic move has Mundine’s close family and friends extremely worried about his mental health.
Mundine was gracious and benevolent when interviewed after viewing the Green fight, telling reporters that “as a fighter, you don’t want to see anyone get beat like that and get knocked out like that.”
“Hopefully he can bounce back. Hopefully he’s alright. I’m not going to bad-mouth Danny like a lot of people think I would.”
The kind, heart-felt words have some people wondering whether Mundine is going through some sort of mid-life crisis or depression.
One Fairfax reporter told The Public Apology that he was surprised Mundine did not seize the opportunity to publicly belittle his long-time rival.
“Yeah, I couldn’t actually believe what I was hearing,” he said. “Usually all I need to do is put a microphone in front of him and lick my lips while he provides me with a delicious combination of inflammatory quotes and third-person bravado, unprompted.”
“I’m actually quite devastated with this new Mundine, who seems like a reasonably decent bloke. He even hung around after the press conference and asked me how my six-month old child was going. Sure, I appreciated it, but how’s ‘being a good bloke’ going to sell papers?”
A source close to the Mundine family said that the boxer’s relatives had entered a state of shock following the placid interview.
“I spoke to his dad, Tony, and he was fucking livid at the way Anthony handled the interview,” the source told The Public Apology.
“Anthony was measured and articulate and made no references to ‘The Man’ or how he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. We’re all a bit shocked – and I’d prefer if we ended this interview right now, actually. I’m fucking speechless.”
“He must have had one too many head-knocks, the crazy fucker.”
By Dave Edwards