Our young guns shooting to the top
By Grantlee Kieza for the Daily Telegraph September 15, 2006 12:00amIT took six years for promoters to get Anthony Mundine and Danny Green to settle their differences in the ring, but it took hot junior-middleweight prospect Tyrone Tongia just a day to bring them together under the one banner. Tongia, a three-time NSW amateur champion, has the backing of both former world champs for his budding professional career. And along with stablemate, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Lenny Zappavigna, Tongia is one of the exciting young guns shooting to the top of Australian boxing. Green has even signed on as Tongia's manager and will promote his fight with Robbie Bryant on the undercard to his rematch with Jason De Lisle at Perth's Challenge Stadium on Wednesday. Mundine is thrilled with the development of the heavy-punching 23-year-old who was born in Papua New Guinea and who made his pro debut with a crushing KO of Jason Cortis on the Mundine-Green undercard at Aussie Stadium in May. "He's got potential and talent," Mundine said. "I've worked with Tyrone in the gym and he's landed a few on me so he must be pretty good." Stablemate Zappavigna, 18, a four-time Australian amateur champ, was the most popular fighter at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, drawing cheers like a rock star every time he came out swinging. He fights on September 22 at the La Luna Lounge in Bankstown on a card that also features world-rated Hussein Hussein and Ahmed Elomar.
