5 things we learned from Danny Green’s controversial win over Anthony Mundine

IT might be the most controversial fight in Australian boxing history, but its in the books. No matter what else happens, Danny Green has beaten Anthony Mundine.

Danny Green beat Anthony Mundine in more than slightly controversial circumstances.

IT might be the most controversial fight in Australian boxing history, but its in the books. No matter what else happens, Danny Green has beaten Anthony Mundine.

Here’s five things we learned from the fight.

1) This was not good for boxing

The fight drew interest from the casual sports fan like few fights do these days. The thousands who ordered the bout and the millions watching on illegal streams around the world were treated to 10 rounds of ugly, clinching scraps between two old men plus an absolutely outrageous decision.

It was the worst of boxing without the best of boxing.

The undercard had its moments however, with the Moloney brothers and Tim Tszyu standing out but the less said about Quade Cooper’s bout with Jack McInnes the better.

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Tim Tszyu was a standout on the undercard.

2) The decision was ridiculous.

In this writers opinion, Mundine won the fight 95-93. The 94-94 and 96-94 card to Green are defendable — the middle rounds were so close and could have gone either way.

The 98-90 that Hubert Minn threw up defied belief. Minn judged Green to have won every round except for the seventh, which makes me doubt his sanity.

Mundine copped a very raw deal from the judges.

3) Both men should retire

With this win, Green should be finished. Mundine will likely want at least one more bout so he can end his career with a victory. In reality, that should be the end for both of them.

They looked old and fought old because they are old.

Mundine’s hand speed was nowhere and while Green was dogged he lacked spark and ran out of gas badly.

Their toughness cannot be doubted, but they have nothing left to prove. Mundine is one of the most significant figures in Australian boxing in the 21st century and Green has long been the perfect foil.

This should be the end for both of them and they should hold their heads high.

Both men should hang up the gloves.

4) There is a good chance they will fight again

As awful as the decision was, it sets up a trilogy. As bad as the fight was, people will watch it again.

As happy as Green is with the win, people will still pay him to fight Mundine again.

As contrived as some of Mundine’s talk has been over the years, he actually was skinned this time.

Don’t be surprised if we’re all doing this again a year from now.

Will they do it again?

5) The shot in the first changed the dynamic of the fight

This seems an obvious point to make but it's a crucial one.

Green’s game plan would have been centred around dominating the early stages of the fight and making the most of his size and power advantage.

The illegal blow stopped any chance of that happening — he was flat out surviving the first after he was clipped with a right on the break.

It gave Mundine the confidence boost he needed to stand and trade with Green and cost Green the rounds where he should have been making the most progress.