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Boxer Anthony Mundine has confirmed he will take on Mexican Rigoberto Alvarez in Newcastle on September 21 for the interim WBA junior middleweight title.
Any dent the defeat by little-known countryman Garth Wood inflicted on Anthony Mundine's famed self-belief was clearly only temporary.
Mundine on Tuesday confirmed he will take on Mexico's Rigoberto Alvarez in Newcastle on September 21 for the interim WBA junior middleweight title.
The 36-year-old former NRL star has long-been accused of avoiding the world's top-ranked fighters and Alvarez looms as his biggest test to date in the junior middleweight division.
Mundine said the bout proves he's serious about becoming the world's best and even claimed he's made of the same stuff as 10-time world champions Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr and current WBC junior heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins Jr.
"I've got big dreams and big desires," Mundine said.
"I want to be one of the best pound-for-pounders in the world and I truly believe I'm from the same cloth as the Mayweathers, the Pacquiaos, the Bernard Hopkins of the world.
"I'm from the same pedigree as them guys."
Mundine was due to meet Alvarez in February but his shock fifth-round knockout by Wood in December, a fight he now says was a "huge wake up call", put an end to the bout then.
And Mundine says the fight against the 33-year-old Mexican, who boasts an impressive record of 27 wins and three losses, shows his ambition.
"I want to look back in 10 years time, 20 years time and say I didn't take any short cuts," Mundine said.
"I just want to be the best that I can be and I think this is a great start.
"I want to fight the best, the very best.
"Alvarez is a difficult foe and I want to dismantle him with ease."
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, he is expected to fight Trout for the world title, provided the American overcomes Mexican David Lopez on June 11.
"This is chance for me to show my dominance and my superiority at this weight division," said Mundine.
"I just don't think that anyone can match me now."
While many believed Mundine's knockout by Wood, his only defeat in the past six years, signalled the possible end to his boxing career, the former St George Illawarra five-eighth insists his best is yet to come.
"I thought that was just the beginning because I'm telling you now, these next few years are going to be something that you're going to remember, and it starts with Alvarez.
"See that's the thing, I'm a complete fighter. I can fight, I can box, I can give you angles and I can adapt to any style to win.
"I'm going to prove that I'm going to be the best.
"I want to be the best fighter ever to come out of this country, that's including all the greats.
"This is an exciting time, not just for me but for Australian boxing."
