Anthony Mundine is reportedly devastated at his fight against Jeff Horn being ignored by his junior rugby league club.

Mundine has expressed hurt at his fight against Jeff Horn being overlooked by St George Leagues at Kogarah — the club he started at as a 15-year-old.

On a night where the former Dragons star showed rare humility and grace in the face of defeat, he was forced to swallow the disappointment of his own club refusing to show the fight.

“It’s heartbreaking and it’s an insult,” Mundine told The Daily Telegraph.

“I started there as a 15-year-old in their junior reps.

“Maybe the club is struggling to know what their members and customers want.”

The club’s decision to shun the fight comes after estimates from Main Event this week that the fight is tracking to be the third-most popular pay-per-view ever witnessed in Australia.

Fight promoter Dean Lonergan of Duco Events said earlier this week that the fight even had the potential to be Australia’s highest selling pay-per-view broadcast.

Active venue pay-per-view purchases leading into the fight showed Horn-Mundine was tracking only behind Mundine’s fight with Danny Green in Adelaide and Floyd Mayweather’s boxing showdown with UFC fighter Conor McGregor.

Lonergan said the Horn-Mundine fight had already smashed through the pre-event sales for Horn’s shock upset of future hall-of-famer Manny Pacquiao in Brisbane.

Yet again, Mundine demanded every fight fan’s attention — even at the age of 43.

But after being knocked down and stopped in 96 seconds into the first round, the veteran boxer and former rugby league star is finally done.

The body which took him to NRL grand finals and boxing world titles simply can’t keep up any more.

It was a reality Mundine was made brutally aware of when Jeff Horn — 13 years his junior — began the pair’s fight at Suncorp Stadium with a shot to Mundine’s body.

From that moment, any illusion that ‘The Man’ would pull off a shock upset was obliterated in front of the thousands watching in the stands. Less than two minutes later it was over when a Horn left hook knocked Mundine out.

“I’m 43 — I’m not 23 — you know what I mean,” Mundine said after the loss.

“If I was bit younger, bit fresher, maybe things might have been better but that’s the way it goes man.”

Pre-fight Mundine had hinted his career may continue if he beat Horn and opened the door to further big pay-days.

But no amount of money is going to get him back in the ring now, he says. “Nah man, I’m done,” he said.

“That’s life man. You can’t cry over it, it’s meant to be and we’ve got to move on.”

For all his athletic brilliance, Mundine’s outspoken ways have often put him offside with Australia’s public.

The veteran was booed as he walked into Suncorp and then cheered when he was floored by Horn.

Not that the public hate is something he is bothered by.

“All the trash I talked, in the end it’s an entertainment business and I’ve got to try and get bums on seats,” he said.

“Obviously a lot of people don’t like it, so you’re going to get detractors and lovers, supporters. It’s part of the game and I’m glad I’ve really united something for these guys to earn some big dollars.” As to the future Mundine says he’ll continue to campaign against injustice and to use his legacy and story to “uplift and help people” as well as spend some well-earned time with his children.

— with AAP