By Jim Dower: Former two time WBA super middleweight champion Anthony Mundine (40-4, 24 KO’s) will be facing former Australian Contender Super middleweight series champion Garth Wood (10-1-1, 6 KO’s) on April 13th in what could be a fight that puts the 35-year-old Mundine’s career on the line when they meet at the Brisbane Entertainment Center. Mundine was shockingly knocked out in the 5th round by the little known inexperienced Wood last year in December.

It seemed that Mundine took Wood way too lightly and wasn’t ready for his rough inside style of fighting. Indeed, Mundine seemed out of his element in the way that Wood was attacking him in close with chopping short punches to the head and body.

In the 5th, Mundine was trapped against the ropes by Wood and tagged with a hard right hand to the back of the head while leaning over slightly. Wood then followed it with a hard left hook to the head of Mundine that sent him down on the canvas where the fight was quickly stopped because Mundine was too hurt to get back up.

Mundine didn’t have take this fight in the first place, because he was in line to get a shot against one of the middleweight champs. However, Mundine continuing with his trend of facing fighters in his native Australia rather than world class top guys, decided to go after Wood instead of looking for a big fight. Wood then wrecked everything for Mundine by taking him out.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Mundine said “I think if the last fight didn’t wake me up then nothing will, so I have to be ready and prepare a lot better mentally…I am not getting any younger and this is probably the fight that I need to make sure that I win. I really feel that the last fight I wasn’t up for it as much as he was and I got into a lot of bad habits.”

You can say that again. Mundine needs to stay off the ropes in a rematch and avoid fighting Wood on the inside above all. Mundine isn’t suited for the inside fighting and seemed like a fish out of water in their fight last December. Once Mundine gets this fight out of the way, he needs to start facing top guys instead of taking on little known Australian fighters over and over again. That’s a waste of time for someone as old as Mundine. He needs to go after one of the world champs unless he wants to finish his career fighting only Australian fighters.