Australian boxing writer Paul Upham argues in his latest book UNDISPUTED: A Golden Era in Australian Boxing that the recent achievements of Australian boxers like Anthony Mundine, Kostya Tszyu and Vic Darchinyan elevated the boxing as a sports to an extremely high level in the country.

In his book, Upham says: "There is no doubt that Anthony Mundine leaving rugby league to become a world champion boxer was a huge catalyst for change. Through Anthony, a new media spotlight was shone onto the sport, and many other boxers benefited from this."

"The second important factor was the Sydney Olympic Games, which delivered not only three new Australian stars in Danny Green, Daniel Geale and Michael Katsidis, but an international mix of talent that was injected into the local boxing industry, raising the standard significantly."

UNDISPUTED: A Golden Era in Australian Boxing charts an exciting new time between the years 2000 and 2010, a period of promise and optimism. There was the presence and skill of Kostya Tszyu, Anthony Mundine, Vic Darchinyan and Danny Green, who punched above their weight at an international level.

During the last decade, super-fights flourished: Kostya Tszyu versus Zab Judah, Anthony Mundine versus Danny Green, Vic Darchinyan versus Cristian Mijares and Danny Green versus Roy Jones Jr. Impressive performances at the highest level that helped push boxing back into the spotlight, raising the profile of the sport among boxing and mainstream sports fans.

THE AUTHOR

Paul Upham is one of Australia's best-known boxing writes at present. Upham is also content editor for SecondsOut.com and editor of the Australian Boxing Almanac 2005. He has appeared live on air as a boxing analyst for Main Event Pay Per View, Sky Channel, Fox Sports, Sky News, SBS, Radio 2UE and Radio SEN. He writes monthly for The Fist magazine and is also on the World Ratings Panel for The Ring magazine. He is the author of Something Worth Fighting For.