By Dan Rafael | ESPN.com
Former three-division champion Shane Mosley is headed Down Under to fight Australia's Anthony Mundine.
The junior middleweight fight, which will take place Oct. 23 at the Sydney Entertainment Center, was announced by Mundine promoter Vlad Warton at a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday.
Mosley (47-8-1, 39 KOs), who turns 42 on Sept. 7, is long past his best days as a lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight champion, but he is coming off a hard-fought 12-round decision victory against fringe welterweight contender Pablo Cesar Cano in May in Mexico. The victory ended Mosley's 0-3-1 winless stretch that included lopsided losses to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in addition to a draw with Sergio Mora.
"Mundine is a great superstar (in Australia). I know he's a great fighter," said Mosley, who will be fighting outside the United States for the second time in a row -- the only two times he has done that in his 20-year professional career. "I'm happy to be able to go out there to fight him. He's a little bit bigger than me, but that doesn't matter. I'm ready to go. I'm about to open camp."
The fight was in jeopardy in recent days due to a $300,000 advance payment -- a portion of Mosley's purse -- that was late. But when the money was put into escrow, the fight was a go.
"I'm looking forward to giving the Australian fans a great fight," said Mosley, of Pomona, Calif. "I can't wait. Oct. 23 is going to be big."
Mundine (44-5, 26 KOs), 38, has won versions of the super middleweight title twice, but later dropped down to junior middleweight, where he has fought three of his past eight bouts. However, in Mundine's last fight he challenged countryman Daniel Geale for a middleweight world title in a rematch. Geale won a clear decision to avenge his only defeat, a split decision to Mundine in 2009.
"I'm on top of my game," Mundine said. "I'm in a good place. I feel like I can't be beat. It's great for Australian boxing. It's great to have Shane come to fight me in my hometown. His legacy is solid. I have the utmost respect for him, and he knows that.
"At the end of the day it's business; we are both competitors. We are in the hurt game. I want to prove to the world that I'm cut from the same cloth as the best of the best. My goal now is to let the people and the world know my talents. I'm focused. I believe in my heart I will win. I'm headed home to start camp. I hope everyone enjoys the fight. God willing, my hand will be raised in victory."
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