No supporter Anthony Mundine says he wants to fight Voice architect Thomas Mayo: ‘He needs to be taught a lesson’
No supporter Anthony Mundine says he wants to fight Voice architect Thomas Mayo: ‘He needs to be taught a lesson’
Boxer Anthony Mundine has challenged Voice campaigner Thomas Mayo to a fight amid rising tensions between the Yes and No camps.
In a video shared on social media, the outspoken No supporter and athlete said he wanted to beat up Mayo ‘really good’ in the boxing ring.
Mundine also accused the architect of the Voice to Parliament of not using his real surname and not having a traditional bloodline linked to Darwin.
Mayo has previously refuted both of Mundine’s claims. For the first four decades of his life, Mayo was called Thomas Mayor. In 2022, he changed his surname to Mayo.
The decision was to honor his heritage and return to the name of his ancestors.
Anthony Mundine believes he would beat up Thomas Mayo (pictured) if the boxing match goes ahead in the coming weeks
Mayo revealed that a generation earlier, a priest “decided our last name was misspelled and changed it to Mayor” – and Mayo changed it again.
Mayo was born in Darwin and has described his father Celestino Mayor as a Torres Strait Islander of Filipino and Dayak (Borneo) descent, and his mother Liz of Polish, Jewish and English descent.
READ MORE: Thomas Mayo addresses ‘crazy’ rumors as he campaigns for The Voice
Mayo has become one of the most prominent campaigners for The Voice after helping to develop the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017.
‘What is happening? Listen, this has to go viral,” Mundine begins his scathing tirade against Mayo.
“I want to challenge Thomas Mayor, his real name. He claims he’s a Mayo in the Darwinian way, but he’s not.’
“He has no traditional bloodline connected to the land. He’s from the islands, Torres Strait or whatever.
‘I respect the brothers, but he has no bloodlines in this country. He broke tribal lore, so there are consequences.”
“We men have to stand up, so I want to challenge him in the ring.”
Mundine urged Mayo to hire him. “Let’s go man and get going!” he continued.
“He says he’s a fighter, I’m an ex-fighter. I’m getting older, I’m probably older than him.’
‘I really want to beat him up. He needs to be taught a lesson.’
Three-time world boxing champion and non-supporter Anthony Mundine (pictured) accused Thomas Mayo of breaking tribal lore
Mundine recently worked with the No campaign – his great-nephew Warren is one of the faces of No.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Yes23 campaign for comment on Mundine’s challenge but received no response.
In an interview with the Betoota Advocate, Mayo described No campaigners’ insinuations about his family as “shocking”.
“It was quite shocking to see photos of your parents being shared saying we’re not really Indigenous,” he said.
Mayo’s father is from the Torres Strait Islands. His great-great-grandfather arrived in the Torres Strait from the Philippines and married a local woman.
His maternal grandparents are English, Irish and Polish.
Mayo has been traveling around Australia campaigning for the ‘Yes’ vote and said he is looking forward to October 15 when he can finally take a break.
“I’ve been working hard on this for six years,” he said.