• AAP
• November 12, 2015 1:08AM
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Boxing: Anthony Mundine?s father has thrown in the towel, after a bruising fight.

Anthony Mundine lost his WBC Silver super welterweight boxing title fight against American Charles Hatley in Melbourne last night.

The fight was stopped in the 11th round just as Mundine’s camp threw the towel in, handing Hatley a TKO win.

The 40-year-old Australian never recovered from a brutal second round at the Melbourne Convention Centre when he was knocked down three times by the Texan.

Anthony Mundine faces the referee’s countdown after being knocked to the canvas.

Mundine showed courage to fight on and even sent Hatley briefly to the deck in the 10th round but he couldn’t secure the knockout he needed to beat his 29-year-old opponent.

It brings Hatley’s record to 26-1. Mundine, a four-time world champion, said prior to the fight that a loss could be mean the end of his career.

But there is a chance that he could be lured by a lucrative purse to take on Australian arch-rival Danny Green.

Mundine was knocked down three times by Hatley.

Mundine said a rematch with Green, who he beat in 2006 in the most lucrative fight ever held in Australia, could still happen.

“We’ll see if the deal’s right,” he said.

“I feel fine – it’s not like I’m super beat up but he had a great game plan and he stuck to it. I couldn’t tag him and he caught me early. Congratulations to him. I wanted to fight the best but it didn’t go my way.”

A battered Mundine after the fight.

“They caught me enough to put me off balance but I wasn’t hurt but the corner thought they did the right thing,” Mundine said. The loss scuppered hopes of landing a big-money world title fight against an international name like Miguel Cotto and Mundine said it could mean the end of his 15-year career.

“It could be my final fight but maybe not,” Mundine said.

“I just want to get my body right because I had a lot of injuries coming into this fight and I will see what happens.”

Mundine was gracious in his defeat, praising Hatley. “I take my hat off,” Mundine said.

“Charles boxed well and moved well. He had good distance and range and I got caught early reaching for him.

“I’m just disappointed; I came in with high expectations but Hatley fought a better fight and I was a bit off.”

Hatley will now likely fight for the world championship vacated by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Earlier, former Richmond AFL player Shane Tuck was taken to hospital after being knocked out during his professional boxing debut.

The ex-Tigers midfielder was caught on the chin with a hard right from Lucas Miller in the fourth round of their fight last night on the undercard of the Mundine-Hatley fight.

The 40-year-old said before the fight it could be his last.

Tuck, who played 173 games for Richmond before retiring at the end of the 2013 season, stayed down in the care of his concerned support team.

He was taken out of the ring on a stretcher and an ambulance was called, although a spokesman said he was later sitting up and talking.

AAP