In the end it took 96 seconds for Horn to deliver the comprehensive victory he knew he had to produce against Mundine.

"Jeff proved tonight he's the better man," Mundine said.

"That's the next generation, man. I was ready. I was prepared well. It's just boxing, you get caught sometimes."

Horn was fighting for his future and rebuilding his reputation after his first professional defeat to American Terence Crawford in June, 

"I feel really, really strong at this weight," the former WBO welterweight champion said after stepping up to 71kg.

"I was expecting a hard fight.

"I'm happy to get it over and done quickly."

Horn, who has indicated he'd be keen to organise a rematch with Crawford in Australia if possible, is also exploring the possibility of pursuing fights at heavier weight divisions.

Mundine looked sluggish from the outset in the heavily anticipated bout, which started about an hour behind the scheduled 9:30pm start.

After copping several shots from a faster and stronger Horn, Mundine was floored by a left-hook which slipped past his right glove.

It was an inevitable end to Mundine’s career. The Man was never going to hang up the gloves until he was totally convinced his time had come.

Mundine will not be judged on this final fight, his body of work over the past 18 years has been remarkable. For much of that time he was able to back up his controversial trash talk with performances in the ring.

The pre-fight antics and outrageous comments made him a hated figure among many sporting fans, but those who know him from the Hunter boxing fraternity have nothing but praise and admiration for him in his support and encouragement of young boxers coming up the ranks.

“All the smack talk, all the shit I talk, you’ve got to build the fights. It’s the entertainment business,” Mundine admitted after the fight in a signal he may finally reveal the real “Man” to the wider community.

“I just want to be remembered as someone that’s real.”

What is real is that  Anthony Mundine was an outstanding boxer who kept the sport’s profile alive and well over 18 years. But it’s also reality that his time is up.