Anthony Mundine has announced he will take on Mexican Rigoberto Alvarez in Newcastle on September 21 for the interim WBA junior middleweight title.
Mundine was due to meet Alvarez in February but the former NRL star’s shock fifth-round knockout by fellow Australian Garth Wood in December put an end to the world title bout.
Alvarez looms as Mundine’s biggest test to date in the junior middleweight division, with the 33-year-old Mexican boasting an impressive record of 27 wins and three losses.
Like Mundine, Alvarez is a former super middleweight champion who has made the transition to junior middleweight.
Alvarez claimed the WBA (World Boxing Association) interim junior middleweight title last year but lost it to American Austin Trout in May.
Should Mundine win their bout in September he is expected to fight Trout for the world title, provided the American overcomes Mexican David Lopez on June 11.
A clash with Trout would give Mundine the opportunity to become the first boxer to win world titles in three weight divisions in descending order.
‘I just want to make people talk and put my name out there with the best in the world, because that’s where I believe I belong,’ Mundine said.
‘This is chance for me to show my dominance and my superiority at this weight division.
‘I just don’t think that anyone can match me now.’
by Buford Balony
