Anthony Mundine has always had a complicated relationship with logic.
Logic once told 'The Man' that leaving behind a $600,000 contract with the Dragons to take up boxing, with no amateur experience, was a hugely risky proposition.
Fifty-eight fights and $34 million later, it's easy to understand why Mundine places no relevance in conventional thinking. Zerafa Mundine fight stream free
And who could blame him? More often than not the Australian sporting icon has redefined the limits of what athletes can achieve by not giving any credence to the status quo.
This time, logic suggests the 45-year-old has next to no chance against Michael Zerafa on March 13 at Bendigo Stadium. Zerafa, 17 years younger than the former league player, is a $1.06 favourite with bookmakers. Mundine is paying $7.75 for the win.
Not everybody is on board with Mundine's plans to return, after Main Event turned its back on the fighter, forcing him to stream the clash for $29.95 on www.mundine.tv. Jeff Fenech has expressed fears for Mundine's health. His father also holds reservations. Fans and members of the media feel the same.
Despite an avalanche of opposition, within minutes of talking to 'The Man', it's clear his level of confidence is unswayed.
"I'm going to give him a reality check and redeem myself and get all of the glory from it. Nobody thinks I'm going to win," he told Wide World of Sports.
"Bro, If I win this fight I'm back in the game and have a lot more options. If something motivates me to fight again, maybe fight for a world title or a big-money fight."
No big deal right? Mundine has said far crazier things about far crazier things. And you can't expect anything less from him especially when he's selling possibly his last fight. But more often than not these things don't end well; he must know that. Watch Zerafa vs Mundine live
While Mundine will swear he truly believes he can beat Zerafa to cause one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, even the most ardent Mundine supporter can't ignore his recent track record and the pitfalls of similar comebacks by other boxers throughout the history of the sport.
Mundine has lost four of his last five fights. His last outing against John Wayne Parr in November 2019 was supposed to see Mundine sail into the sunset but a split decision loss changed all that.
Before the loss to the kickboxing icon, Mundine suffered one of the worst defeats of his career with a first round KO loss to Jeff Horn. But Mundine swears there was more to the story behind the Horn fight. The Queenslander's camp conspired to have him at his weakest by placing weight restrictions on him hours out from the fight, he claims.
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