Charles “The Future” Hatley (26-1-1, 18 KOs) went down under to Melbourne, Australia and into the backyard of seasoned veteran Anthony Mundine (47-7, 27 KOs) in hopes of winning Mundine’s WBC Silver Title.
Hatley, a heavy underdog heading into the bout, made easy work of the Aussie, beating Mundine to virtually every punch. By the second round Mundine had been floored three times and luckily for him there was no three knockdown rule in affect. Mundine was expected to be the clear favorite due to his 15 years of ring experience and multiple titles to boast.
“No excuses, he boxed well. Hats off to him, he’s a great fighter and he had a great game plan,” stated a humbled Mundine.
Both Hatley and Mundine changed stances throughout the bout to southpaw. Mundine did see a flash of success in the 10th round as Hatley found himself briefly on the canvas. Hatley quickly rose and argued that it was actually a slip, not a knockdown. By this point it was too little, too late for Mundine.
In the 11th round Hatley scored yet another knockdown and followed with a flurry of punches once Mundine rose to his feet. Mundine’s father Tony Mundine had seen enough and called for the referee to call it to an end.
All in all, Hatley was the quicker, stronger and slicker fighter and now puts himself in great position to fight for Floyd Mayweather’s recently vacated title.
In a recent interview with RBRBoxing Hatley stated his eagerness to fight the best. “Ill fight whoever is out there. Floyd is gone and people are looking for the next Floyd and that’s Charles Hatley.”
The 29-year-old Texan only has one loss on his record and says the loss came from a poor decision on his behalf to come back to the ring after injury.
Mundine, now at age 40, finds himself torn on what the next step in his career is. When asked about the possibility of retirement, Mundine was vague in his response. “Could be, could be. We’ll see.”
Hatley on the other hand will now find himself possibly in the ring against the top fighters at 147 and will look to impress and follow up on his statement that he is the next Floyd Mayweather.
