Anthony Mundine starts sparring sessions in Brisbane ahead of Shane Mosley fight

IN MY CORNER: Welcome to Brisbane, Anthony Mundine. Here's a smack in the mouth for your trouble. Grantlee Kieza reports.

Billy-Dib

IN MY CORNER: Welcome to Brisbane, Anthony Mundine. Here's a smack in the mouth for your trouble.

HORN STICKS IT TO MUNDINE

NEW Australian welterweight champ Jeff Horn welcomed Anthony Mundine to Brisbane yesterday with a punch in the face.

Mundine opened his sparring for his October 23 fight with Shane Mosley at Boxing Express in Brisbane's Kangaroo Point.

Last week, Horn, the 25-year-old primary school teacher took his new championship belt to Brisbane's Pallara State School for a unique show-and-tell for his students.

Horn scored one of the most dramatic big fight victories seen on Fox Sports with a one-punch KO of world-class Cameroon-born Sam Colomban in Melbourne on September 12.

Trainer Glenn Rushton was delighted by the result.

"Many people were shocked on the night at the result but I wasn't," Rushton told me.

"I had analysed Samuel Colomban and determined the best possible way to stop him, which was always the goal, although we were prepared to go the full 10 rounds if need be.

"People who understand boxing will appreciate the precise timing and focus of the right hand that felled a true gladiator of the sport.

"People should remember that Samuel had gone the distance with Wale Omotoso, a very powerful fighter who threw everything at Samuel. Jeff and I worked hard over the last month to perfect the precise timing of the punch that stopped the fight, based on Colomban's style."

Horn has two more fights pencilled in for 2013: November 16 in a rematch against Rivan Cesaire at the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane and December 20 on the Gold Coast.

"Rest assured, we're not looking for easy fights," Rushton said. "We have our sights on the world title and are looking for the fastest route possible."

Horn and fellow Olympian Cameron Hammond will be sparring Mundine as he bases himself in Queensland ahead of the Mosley fight.

Sakio-Bika

BIKA WAITS IN THE WINGS

WHILE Anthony Mundine hogs the Australian boxing spotlight over the next few weeks in the lead-up to the Mosley fight, Australia's WBC world super-middleweight champion Sakio Bika is hoping to make the first defence of his crown in Australia.

The Cameroon-born Bika has called out Mundine for years with no response. He has fought wars with of the very best in the game including Joe Calzaghe, Andre Ward, Markus Beyer and Lucian Bute.

Lucas-Browne

BIG DADDY CHASING KLITSCHKO

PERTH heavyweight and former cage-fighter Lucas "Big Daddy" Browne is now the No.15 contender for Vitali Klitschko's WBC title.

The ranking follows his big wins over James Toney and Travis Walker.

Browne (17-0, 15 KOs) is set to face 205cm Englishman Richard Towers in Hull, Yorkshire on November 2.

Billy-Dib

DIB ON PACQUIAO CARD

BILLY Dib will fight his world title rematch with Evgeny Gradovich on a massive card in China on November 23, topped by Filipino great Manny Pacquiao's WBO International welterweight title bout with Brandon Rios.

Dib lost the IBF featherweight title on a close decision to the California-based Russian in Connecticut in March in his third title defence.

Cynthia-Ross

JUDGE SENTENCES HERSELF

EMBATTLED Las Vegas boxing judge Cynthia J Ross has stepped down from her job scoring boxing matches in the aftermath of criticism of her card in the Floyd Mayweather/Saul Alvarez title fight.

Ross emailed Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer to request an indefinite leave of absence.

She scored the big fight 114-114 even though the undefeated Mayweather dominated.

The other two judges had it 117-111 and 116-112 in favour of Mayweather who won the world light-middleweight titles from the Mexican.

The 64-year-old Ross has been a boxing judge for 22 years.

She was embroiled in controversy last year when she had Timothy Bradley winning a decision over Manny Pacquiao.

Floyd-Mayweather

MAYWEATHER CRUISES OVER CANELO

HYPE springs eternal in the fight game and the bout billed as the battle of the century became little more than an exhibition as Mayweather, the world's best boxer, handed out a lesson to Alvarez in Las Vegas.

Fight? There was no fight.

Mayweather came into the world light-middleweight (70kg) title showdown wearing blue snakeskin trunks and for 12 rounds he was as slippery as an eel drenched in olive oil.

Three years ago, Alvarez had a hard time nailing Australia's Lovemore Ndou with a big shot and the red-headed Mexican found hitting Mayweather with anything that might hurt all but impossible.

Alvarez, 23, suffered the first loss of his career after 44 fights, and never looked likely to hurt the slick American, 36, who has not lost since the Atlanta Olympics 17 years ago. Mayweather is now 45-0 as a professional.

For most of the fight Mayweather barely got out of first gear as Alvarez plodded after him, not so much telegraphing punches as sending them by sea mail.

"I couldn't catch him," a crestfallen Alvarez said. "He's very elusive, a great fighter. I didn't know how to get him. It was very frustrating."

Justin-Bieber

Ringside at the MGM Grand casino was littered with stars such as Justin Bieber, Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington and Sean Combs but Mayweather's electric blue gloves shone brightest of all.

"It's all about skills baby," he said.

Mayweather was guaranteed $45 million for the fight but pay per view revenues could give him more than $80 million. Alvarez was paid $12.5m.

On the undercard, unbeaten WBC/WBA super-lightweight (63kg) champion Danny Garcia survived the power of Argentine shock puncher Lucas Matthysse to win another 12-round decision.

Promoter Oscar De La Hoya, an Olympic gold medallist and multiple world champion, has gone closer than anyone to beating Mayweather. He had to miss the fight having entered rehab again to treat his alcoholism.

THE RICHEST FIGHT EVER

MAYWEATHER'S Jr's dominating win over Alvarez was the richest fight ever.

More than 2.2 million homes bought the pay-per-view telecast, second only to the 2.44 million homes in Mayweather's 2007 win over Oscar De La Hoya.

But the price for this telecast was much higher at $70 with nearly $150 million revenue in TV sales.

Nevada boxing regulators say the gate for the bout was just more than $20 million, another record. A total of 16,146 seats were sold at the MGM Grand at an average price of almost $1240 per ticket

CAPARELLO FACES TOUGHEST TEST v GREEN

TOP Australian light-heavyweight Blake Caparello travelled to Montreal, Canada to spar with former world champion Jean Pascal ahead of his IBO title fight with Allan Green in Melbourne on October 17.

Skye-Nicolson

GIRL POWER FOR GLASGOW

SIX Australian girls are competing in the 2013 AIBA Female Junior/Youth World Boxing Championships in Albena, Bulgaria starting today.

The girls are being supported under the Australian Junior Commonwealth Games Squad (AJCGS).

Women's boxing will appear on the Commonwealth Games program for Glasgow 2014.

Medals will be fought for over four rounds of two minutes.

The Aussie squad is Skye Nicolson, Beth Nicolson, Cherneka Johnson, Caitlin Parker, Mamate Schuster and Voalele Schuster. Coach: Allan Nicolson, Assistant Coach: Kel Bryant.

FLETCHER FACING TOUGH BRAZILIAN

JARROD Fletcher, Brisbane's WBA No.3 ranked middleweight, returns to the ring on October 11 against Brazil's Samir Santos Barbosa at the Reggio Calabria Club, Brunswick in Melbourne.

Fellow Olympian Luke Jackson will also be fighting.

Fletcher has challenged Queensland rival Les Sherrington.

DARCHINYAN VOWS REVENGE

AGE has not mellowed Aussie Vic Darchinyan who is gunning for revenge against Filipino Nonito Donaire on November 9 at the American Bank Centre in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Darchinyan says he will "destroy" the man who gave the Armenian-born Olympian his first professional defeat for the world flyweight title in 2007.