April 07, 2009

Nine months ago Anthony Mundine paid a reported $500,000 to buy Sonny Bill Williams his freedom from the Canterbury Bulldogs. Now it's payback time.

Khoder Nasser, manager to both Mundine and Williams, informed the Australian National Boxing Federation that Williams would be fighting on the undercard to Mundine's world title fight against IBO champion Daniel Geale in Brisbane next month.

To fight on the May 27 program, Williams would have to be registered with the ANBF. Federation president Alan Moore said Nasser was emphatic that Williams would be fighting.

"He will have to pass a medical examination and a blood test," Moore said.

"But this is the first step towards being registered."

It is also the first step in Williams repaying the $500,000 Mundine reimbursed the Bulldogs when his "brother" walked out of Belmore last July to play rugby union in France.

While the Mundine camp has been unusually quiet about Williams's professional boxing debut, in the hope of sparking ticket sales with an announcement closer to the event, The Man has said it would be a promotional tool for his KO To Drugs campaign.

Sceptical boxing insiders believe the real reason is to boost Mundine's waning popularity and repay the $500,000 through pay-for-view and ticket sales, of which Mundine nets 60c in the dollar.

Mundine's marketability peaked when he fought Danny Green in May 2006 but he has refused to drop his pay-for-view rates since, even increasing the $1500 he charged pubs and clubs that night to $2750 for his 2007 fight with Sam Soliman.

That has led to a backlash, with many clubs refusing to show Mundine's bouts. One of the largest of these, Sydney's 25,000-member North Ryde RSL, said it might make an exception for the Geale fight if Williams was on the card.

"Mundine hasn't done us any favours in the past," the club's marketing manager, Michael Borg said.

"We buy all the fights for our members, except his. He charges twice to four times what other fights cost.

"And that's real fights with real fighters, not nobodies, so it's hard to justify paying what he wants.

"Mundine is ridiculously over-priced and the thing is, he's not the drawcard he thinks he is.

"In saying that, we would review our policy if Sonny Bill Williams was fighting. Depending on the price, we'd have to look at it."

Queensland boxing promoter Angelo Di Carlo agreed Mundine needed the drawing power of Williams.

"I think he's finding it harder to draw a crowd because he hasn't stepped up, certainly not at middleweight," he said.

"I don't know if people want to see him.

"I heard about Sonny Bill fighting on the undercard and immediately you ask if it's a publicity stunt but everyone knows he owes Mundine.

"They haven't found an opponent for him yet but they won't have any problem bringing over some big Kiwi who he'll be able to beat.

"The big question everyone is asking is how he'll get out of his contract in France."

The answer to that appears to be in the fine print of the new one-year contract with French club Toulon that Nasser negotiated on his behalf two weeks ago.

Given that Nasser finalised plans to hire the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for the Geale fight at around the same time, it is logical to assume he inserted a clause clearing the way for Williams to take part.

Or, failing that, perhaps Williams will just do what he has done with contracts in the past: simply walk away and let Mundine pick up the pieces.