FOR the first time in his life Anthony Mundine is afraid.
Normally before a big fight he’s shouting out the usual lines and talking himself up big time.
Before Daniel Geale it was: “I’m the best athlete ever, man … You ain’t at my level, Daniel.”
Or before Danny Green: “I’m physically and mentally ready, he can’t touch me.”
Now, as he prepares to fight New Yorker Joshua Clottey in Newcastle on April 9, it’s a different man.
“Yes, I’m afraid,” Mundine said. “I fear failure. The fight is everything. My career is on the line.
“I could come back from a loss when I was younger but I’m now at an age where one loss and it’s all over.
“All top athletes have doubt at different times and I think it’s going to make me perform better.
“You’ve seen me in my last two fights.”
Mundine, who is now ranked No.4 contender for Floyd Mayweather’s WBA super welterweight title, has been heavily criticised in the past for beating up weak opponents and dodging class fighters.
By: couriermail.com