The losses continue to pile up for Anthony Mundine.

Yet another ill-advised comeback ended in despair for the 45-year-old Australian, who was stopped inside of one round by countryman Michael Zerafa in their Pay-Per-View headliner Saturday at Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Australia.

Zerafa scored two knockdowns, the latter of which produced the knockout ending at 2:09 of round one.

Mundine has long lacked punch resistance in the twilight of his career. It quickly came to surface in his regional middleweight title fight with the 28-year-old Zerafa, who showed poise at the start—at least until the Melbourne product found a way to get to Mundine’s chin.

It would come in the form of a two-punch combo, as Zerafa opened up Mundine’s guard with a right hand before connecting with a left hook which froze the former super middleweight titlist. Zerafa immediately went on the attack, battering Mundine along the ropes before forcing him to drop to his knees and onto the canvas.

There was an opportunity to put an end to what was already a disastrous idea. Mundine made it to his feet and was instead permitted to continue, only for his night to last just another 18 seconds worth of ring time.

Mundine was deliberate once action resumed, though he managed to block a jab and score with one of his own. Zerafa feigned a double jab, getting Mundine to extend his guard just enough to land two right hands to the body. A right hook missed up top, only for a four-punch combination to get through. The last of it was a right hand to the temple, which put Mundine flat on his back in forcing an immediate stoppage.

Zerafa advances to 27-4 (16KOs) with the win, coming up big in his third straight high-profile fight on home soil, though representing his first fight since the pandemic.

"This is a legacy fight for me," stated Zerafa. "[For] 15 years, I've been waiting for this moment... I got it and delivered."

The fringe contender split a pair of middleweight showdowns with former welterweight titlist Jeff Horn, the first of which came in a stunning 9th round stoppage in Aug. 2019. It was enough to ruin plans for Horn to next face WBA middleweight titlist Ryota Murata later that New Year’s Eve, instead focusing on a rematch with Zerafa whom he outpointed over ten rounds later that December.

Zerafa came up short in his two other biggest bouts of note. He travelled to the Sheffield, England hometown of former welterweight titlist Kell Brook, where he suffered a 12-round unanimous decision defeat in Dec. 2018. It snapped an eight-fight win streak which began shortly after he was stopped inside of five rounds by former middleweight titlist Peter Quillin in Sept. 2015, marking his lone fight on U.S. soil.

As for Mundine, logic would suggest the end has officially arrived. Of course, that storyline has remained in place for years.

For now, it’s a third straight defeat for “The Man”, who falls to 48-11 (28KOs). The bout was his first since a 10-round split decision defeat to John Wayne Parr, a two-sport athlete who returned to boxing after spending the previous 16 years as a kickboxer. The loss should have truly signaled the end for Mundine, coming on the one-year anniversary of an embarrassing 1st round knockout to Horn in Nov. 2018.

Mundine won a secondary version of the WBA super middleweight title in a 12-round unanimous decision over Antwun Echols in Sept. 2003. The win came two years after suffering a 10th round knockout loss to light hitting though unbeaten IBF titlist Sven Ottke in Dec. 2001, and with his reign upgraded following Ottke’s retirement in 2004.

The glory was short-lived, as Mundine was stopped in the 10th round by Manny Siaca in their May 2004 title fight. A bid to recapture his old belt resulted in a 12-round decision defeat to then-unbeaten Mikkel Kessler in June 2005, eventually reigning the title with a 9th round stoppage of countryman Sam Soliman in their March 2007 vacant title fight.

Wedged in between was a 12-round nod over longtime domestic rival Danny Green in May 2006 in what served at the time as the most lucrative boxing event to ever take place on Australian soil. Mundine’s three combined wins over Green and Soliman (twice) marked the pinnacle of his career, with the repeat victory over Soliman in May 2008 representing the end of his title reign before dropping down in weight. Mundine would go all the way down to junior middleweight, collecting a secondary title with a 12-round unanimous decision win over Rigoberto Alvarez in Oct. 2011. The reign was one and done, moving back up in weight only to drop a competitive but clear 12-round decision to countryman Daniel Geale in their Jan. 2013 IBF middleweight title fight.

Mundine managed to extend his career with the final high-profile win of his career. It came in the form of a 7th round injury stoppage of former three-division champion ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley in Nov. 2013, followed by a 10-round shutout of New Zealand’s Gunnar Jackson in Jan. 2014.

From there has come six losses in his last eight fights, with the promise that Saturday’s disaster will serve as the end of a 21-year career entirely spent as a PPV attraction.

"It definitely will be my last [fight]," Mundine vowed after the fight. "Even If I won, I would have still hung them up. I haven't got the heart to do it [anymore]."

With that comes the intention of his latest conqueror to establish his own legacy.

"I just want to give a huge thanks to the Mundine team for the opportunity," Zerafa stated after the fight. "Anthony, nothing but love and respect for you. You put this sport on the map.

"Now it's my turn to carry the torch."

He has just the fight in mind to ignite that flame—a showdown with unbeaten second-generation contender Tim Tszyu. 

"Pardon my French but stop f*cking running," Zerafa said of his countryman, a current top-rated junior middleweight contender. "It's time to fight. It's the best match up. We're both number-one in our division. He had a four-fight plan that I was in. He's fought three out of the four and he's running scared.

"Let's give back to Australian boxing. Let's put boxing back on the map. It's my time."

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox