Anthony Mundine and Daniel Geale comfortably removed South American roadblocks to their boxing rematch with convincing wins at the Silverdome in Launceston on Wednesday.

Geale (22-1, 13 KOs) won every round on each judge’s card to record a complete 120-108 shutout over Brazil’s Samir Dos Santos Barbosa (22-6-3, 17 KOs) and win the vacant IBF Pan Pacific middleweight title.

Mundine (37-3, 23 KOS) was almost as dominant in recording a unanimous 10-round win over Argentina’s Alejandro Falliga (17-6-3, 6 KOs) in a non-title fight.

The IBO middleweight world champion earned the judges’ favour by two scores of 100-90 and one of 99-91.

Mundine spent most of the fight stalking his opponent, but the Argentinian spent most all of the bout backing away from the Australian and rarely engaged in exchanges.

The Australian was first to the punch with his jab and landed the occasional right-hand power shot, but was rarely able to sustain pressure on an opponent whose only objective appeared to be survival.

“He came here to survive, it didn’t make it real entertaining for the fans, but I had to deal with what was in front of me,” Mundine said in his post-fight ring interview.

“I was feeling good, I was feeling strong, I caught him a few times but he kept on his bike and I couldn’t pin him where I wanted to pin him.”

He said he was looking forward to a rematch with Geale, and fighting the winner of the Australian Contender reality TV boxing show.

Mundine also threw out a challenge to the winner of the December 5 middleweight world title fight between Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams.

Geale, fighting for the first time as a professional in the city of his birth, enjoyed a triumphant homecoming.

He controlled the bout with his superior speed, peppering his opponent with jabs and combinations.

Although the Brazilian boasted a decent KO percentage he rarely connected with anything of substance.

The win should improve Geale’s IBF world ranking of ninth and move him closer to a world title fight and a rematch with Mundine, who inflicted his only defeat.

“I would have been in there tonight with him, if they let me I would have been in there tonight and we would have given it to him,” Geale said of Mundine in his post-fight ring interview.

“He knows that, that’s why he wants to prolong it as much as he can.”
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1. Manny Pacquiao (48-3-2)

Pacquiao has been dazzling at whatever weight class he chooses to fight. On May 2, the Pac-Man gets an opportunity to rule the junior welterweight division when he takes on 140-pound king Ricky Hatton. A win over Hatton all but guarantees a shot at former pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather Jr., who many feel is lurking in anticipation of a Pacquiao victory.

2. Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1)

Marquez’s power seems to increase with his weight. He ended his first two fights at lightweight with spectacular knockouts and has clearly established himself as the world’s dominant 135-pounder. A fight with another lightweight contender like Nate Campbell could be a prelude to an eventual showdown with Hatton at 140.

3. Shane Mosley (46-5)

The 37-year-old Mosley looked 10 years younger in dismantling Antonio Margarito in January. Forget titleholder Andre Berto — the world wants to see a rematch between Mosley and Miguel Cotto to determine the true welterweight champion.

4. Bernard Hopkins (48-5-1)

Who will the ageless Hopkins fight next? Chad Dawson is a logical opponent if Hopkins stays at light heavyweight, but B-Hop has expressed an interest in fighting cruiserweight champ Tomasz Adamek. Is fighting at 200 pounds biting off more than he can chew?

5. Chad Dawson (27-0)

Dawson’s May 9 rematch with Antonio Tarver is a waste of everyone’s time; Tarver was outclassed the first time, he will be outclassed again this time. The real fight for Dawson, if he can somehow raise his profile enough to make himself appealing enough, is against Hopkins.

6. Israel Vazquez (43-4)

Vazquez, who has been sidelined for more than a year following retina surgery, says he wants to return to the ring this summer, and he may do it at featherweight. That’s only a good idea if Rafael Marquez moves up to 126 pounds with him. Vazquez will need a tune-up fight before any major showdown, but when he is ready, it should be a fourth fight with Marquez.

7. Kelly Pavlik (35-1)

Memo to HBO and Showtime: one of you needs to step up and make Pavlik-Arthur Abraham happen. If that means enticing Abraham to come Stateside this summer for a look-at-me fight with a fringe contender, so be it. Make it happen. The world needs to see a fight between the two most explosive middleweights in boxing.

8. Miguel Cotto (33-1)

Cotto rebounded nicely from last summer’s savage beating at the hands of Antonio Margarito with an equally savage victory over Michael Jennings. Word is that Cotto will fight granite-chinned fellow titleholder Joshua Clottey in June in New York. That’s a good fight for Cotto, who will probably have to box for 12 rounds to defeat Clottey.

9. Paul Williams (36-1)

I keep hearing how Williams isn’t exciting enough or a big enough name to warrant a fight with any of the welterweight, junior welterweight or middleweight contenders. Huh? Has anyone actually been watching Williams the past two years? He has ricocheted in and out of three different weight classes and has been winning in staggeringly impressive fashion. If he can be equally as impressive against Winky Wright next month, Williams will have earned a shot at either Mosley or Pavlik.
10. Vic Darchinyan (32-1-1)

First, Darchinyan beats (and shuts up) Cristian Mijares. Then he goes out and dismantles Jorge Arce after telling everyone he was going to do just that. My kind of fighter. Rumor has it that Darchinyan is looking to move up to bantamweight to fight either Anselmo Moreno or Joseph Agbeko.

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