Treacy: Mundine running scared

By FIGHT GAME Editors

Anthony Mundine is running scared of a rematch with Daniel Geale, the former IBO titlist’s camp believes.

Negotiations for a rematch of last month's split-points decision where Mundine claimed Geale's IBO world middleweight title in Brisbane stalled after Geale's manager Bill Treacy met with Mundine's manager Khoder Nasser yesterday.

Nasser said Mundine was keen for a rematch but was seeking an interim fight first, but Treacy said this was simply a stalling tactic.

"What they really meant is they don't want to fight Geale again, that's what they meant 100 per cent." Treacy said.

"That fight was the second highest money-earning fight in Australian history -- and they wouldn't want to fight again, when it is possibly more money? There's only one reason. We have pushed for it. We believe Geale will beat him and we think they believe that too. That is why they don't want to take the fight. We've just got to get on with it and do our own thing."

Nasser was adamant a Geale-Mundine bout was not on the immediate horizon but did not rule it out completely.

"I did make it emphatically clear we did not wish to have the rematch as the next fight," Nasser said. We are looking at the rematch after the next fight as a possibility but definitely not as a possibility as the next fight. We are not saying we don't want the rematch. We want the rematch but we don't want it immediately, like they are demanding."

Both camps are waiting on the result of an appeal over the previous fight lodged by Geale over Mundine's constant stopping to retape his gloves and allegations his supporters intimidated a judge. But Treacy said the verdict might be irrelevant.

"I asked Khoder, if the IBO say you have to fight, what is your attitude? He said they would relinquish the title. To me, it seems they are not too keen to fight Daniel." Treacy said.

Geale's camp is already targeting his next opponent, likely to be Aaron Mitchell.

The 39-year-old American has a WBA middleweight ranking of 13, with a record of (27-1-1, 21 KO's). "We have spoken to Foxtel already and around mid-October could be a good time for them, but whatever happens, one million per cent, Daniel's next fight is going to be in Tasmania," Treacy said.