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Boxing world reacts to Anthony Mundine’s loss to John Wayne Parr

Anthony Mundine has given a classy final ringside interview after being bashed into retirement in a surprise upset against John Wayne Parr.

3 min read
November 30, 2019 - 11:44PM
Man down.
Man down.

Anthony Mundine has given a classy farewell to his army of haters in his final ever ringside interview.

The 44-year-old admitted he is done after his career ended with a surprise defeat to John Wayne Parr at Brisbane Convention Centre on Saturday night via a split decision.

The controversial former NRL star was knocked through the ropes during the fight and deducted a point for a shot to the back of Parr’s head.

After eight seasons of rugby league and 19 years of professional boxing, the curtain came down on Mundine in less than glorious circumstances.

Parr’s victory came on the back of a surprising judges scorecard, where one even scored the fight in Mundine’s favour 95-94.

The other two scored the fight in Parr’s favour 96-93, 95-93, with one judge giving Parr six of the ten rounds.

Mundine’s career finishes with a record of 48-10. He lost four of his last five fights and has only a win against Tommy Browne in the last four years.

John Wayne Parr is also now retired.
John Wayne Parr is also now retired.

The weight of retirement all appeared to hit Mundine in the ring after the judges’ scorecards were announced.

When asked if this is “it” — Mundine admitted he is “done”.

“I’ve had a wonderful career. I thought I did enough to win but that’s boxing. I’m going to sail into the sunset now,” he said.

“I was contemplating it even before the fight. I don’t really want to keep doing this.

“I’ve done enough.”

At the end of the brief interview, Mundine took the mic one final time in a message to his fans and haters.

“I want to thank all the Australian public,” he said.

“Even if they didn’t support me or didn’t like my opinions, I always did my best.

“I want to wish you all the best.”

Parr also paid his respects to Mundine and broke down in tears after the fight after confirming he has also retired after the fight.

Parr said thankyou to Mundine for the chance to fight one final time for big money.

“This is my last fight, I’m retiring,” he said.

Man down.
Man down.

“I need hip surgery, I need a hip replacement.

“I can’t thank Anthony enough for giving me this opportunity. This is my last fight and I was determined to go out a winner. I need a hip replacement and training was tough but I’m so happy and amazed. I’ve been doing this since I was 11 years old and to have so much support for this makes me so happy.’’

He lost his composure when speaking about his plans for the future after 147 career fights.

“147 fights and this is my last one,” he said.

“I just know I can’t keep fighting.”

Kickboxing champion Parr hadn’t fought since 2003 in boxing, but he will go out a winner.

The bout between to the two men north of 40 was slammed by Australian boxing legend Jeff Fenech who labelled it “embarrassing” in the lead up to the fight, but the main event bout still delivered some fireworks.

The home crowd came alive in the fourth round with chants of “John Wayne Parr” during the fourth round when the local star pinned Mundine against the ropes.

He even knocked the former champion down and through the ropes in the fifth round.

Parr set the tone of the fight and had almost constant ring control as Mundine danced around the ropes.

Parr’s aggression clearly converted into points with the judges and there were no complaints when he emerged as the winner.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/boxing/boxing-world-reacts-to-anthony-mundines-loss-to-john-wayne-parr/news-story/893ef9ee0fcc2054f50eed1150e5d9bb