League: Warriors confirm Mundine interest

The Warriors will face serious competition if they make a bid to sign boxer Anthony Mundine.

"We're interested, we've spoken to them and told them we're interested," was the line from the club yesterday in relation to speculation a deal had been done with Mundine's manager, Wayne Beavis.

Further speculation that Stacey Jones would be let go to find the money to pay for Mundine, who left St George mid-2000 when earning A$600,000 ($646,000) a year, was dismissed.

Mundine has a World Boxing Association title fight against Dane Mikel Kessler in Sydney on May 11 and said at the weekend that he would decide which club he would go to within a week of that. But he wants to keep fighting too.

Canberra have confirmed interest. Mundine is a regular in their corporate box to watch brother in law and former Kiwi Tyran Smith. Souths also are interested and are cashed up and the Roosters are said to be preparing an offer.

The NRL will be keen to have Mundine back in the game as a crowd-puller. Former New South Wales coach Phil Gould is among those talking up his return.

"In boxing, the name of the game is hit and don't get hit. Mundine is a master at it," Gould said in a newspaper column yesterday.

"He played his rugby league much the same way. You would try to get to him but you couldn't. You would try to defend to him but you couldn't. He would come at you when you were tired and unsuspecting. He used his brains. He saw things others didn't see and he had the instincts to act on them.

"He had abundant energy. He was doing somersaults and backflips after racing 70m to score a try while his opponents were out of breath and doubled over with fatigue. He entertained the crowd and he will entertain them again."

Mundine spent time in the Warriors camp ahead of his points decision over Sean Sullivan in Auckland in 2001 and they presented him with a number six jersey.

"The Warriors are a great team," Mundine said from his camp in Bathurst at the weekend. "I don't want to get into which club I'll join and I'm not going to decide until a week after my fight. Right now, Kessler is my sole focus."