Tommy Browne to fight Anthony Mundine two years after brother died
DAVEY Browne was on track to fight Anthony Mundine before he tragically died after being knocked out in the ring two years ago. Now, his brother is set to sensationally land a fight against The Man to finish what Davey started.
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DAVEY Browne was in line to fight Anthony Mundine two years ago, but was tragically killed after being knocked out in a fight.
Now, his older brother Tommy is set to sensationally land a fight against The Man in what will be an emotion-charged bout in Sydney.
All that remains is for Mundine to formally sign off on the contract for a January 17 showdown, and Browne has already been training in Floyd Mayweather’s Las Vegas gym to prepare for the biggest fight of his career.
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“I’ve signed the contract, I’m ready to fight, I’m just waiting for Anthony to find the guts to sign it too,” Browne said.
“He talks a good game, now it’s time to see if he can back it up, because I didn’t hesitate to put my name on the contract as soon as it was sent, but I’ve been waiting to hear back from him for a few days now.
“I’ve been training hard, I’m ready for this fight and deep down he knows it.”
Browne was on the same card as his younger brother that fateful night in September 2015 when 28-year-old Davey was floored by Filipino Carlo Migali in the 12th round in Ingleburn.
He slipped into a coma and never recovered, passing away four days later, a death that led to a state coroner’s investigation that heavily criticised that referee and ringside medical officials for failing to stop the fight earlier.
“I had to take a long time away from the sport after Davey passed away, but I’m now hungrier than ever to succeed and make him proud,” Tommy Browne, 34, said.
“Nothing will change what happened, nothing will bring Davey back, but every day I train, every drip of sweat and blood that comes out of me is for him, he is my motivation.
“He was supposed to fight Mundine a few years ago, hopefully I get that chance soon and achieve what he would have had he been given the chance.”
Browne (35-6-2, 13KO) is undefeated in his past 10 bouts and has won back-to-back regional titles, which means the winner of his planned fight against Mundine (47-8, 27KO) would get a top 10 ranking and be in line for a world title shot against England’s WBO World middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders.
Mundine confirmed he has a contract to fight Browne in front of him.
“Nobody dictates who and when I fight, Tommy is just one in a long line of Australians trying to make their name off me,” Mundine said.
“Everyone knows who the king of boxing is here, I’ve made names for all of them. Tommy might be next, he might not, that will be up to me.”
But the Daily Telegraph understands that Mundine will sign off on the deal this week.
“Mundine has been saying for years that he wants to fight Mayweather and that he can beat Floyd,” Browne said.
“I’ve spent months training at the Mayweather gym, I’ve seen Floyd training first-hand, and Mundine isn’t anywhere near his league.
“Mundine is a poor imitation of Mayweather. He might come close in the talking department, but everyone knows there is no other comparison. You’ve just got to look at their records.
“Mundine is there to be hit where Floyd isn’t. He’s been knocked out cold by Sven Ottke and Garth Wood, and I’ve lost count of how many times he’s been knocked down in his last few fights.
“His chin is gone and I’ll expose that if he wants to get in the ring with me.”