Danny Green

This article's tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (August 2009)

Daniel Green (born 9 March, 1973) is an Australian professional boxer who fights in the Light heavyweight division.

Amateur boxing career and the Olympics

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Green began as an amateur boxer. Success at the State Amateur level led to him being selected for an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship, to prepare for 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Green qualified for the Olympic team, stopping Brazilian Laudelino Barros in the fourth and final round of his first bout. However, Russian Alexander Lebziak stopped Green in the fourth and final round of the second bout. Lebziak went on to claim the Red Medal.

Professional career

After the Olympics, Green decided to turn professional. He won his first bout by a second round technical knockout ovr Waqa Kolivuso on 29 June 2001 in his adopted hometown of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A strong puncher, Green won all of his first 16 fights by KO or TKO, earning him a match with Germany's Super Middleweight World Champion Markus Beyer.

Green fought Beyer on 16 August 2003 in Germany. Green floored Beyer twice, opening a cut above the champion's right eye that had to be closed between the third and fourth round. In the fifth round, a clash of heads opened the cut again. The referee ruled it was deliberate on Green's part, and Green was disqualified. All three judges had Green ahead on their scorecards. Green was granted a rematch on the condition that he fight two contenders nominated by the WBC.

Green then defeated Eric Lucas by a 6th round knockout on 20 December 2003, in Montreal, Canada. He next defeated Sean Sullivan by a unanimous decision on 21 March 2004, in Perth. On 29 September 2004, Green fulfilled the WBC requirements for a rematch by stopping Omar Eduardo Gonzales in the fifth round in Sydney. Beyer was still the reigning champion, and a bout with Green was scheduled for March 2005. Once again it would be fought in Germany.

Green began his rematch cautiously, trying to outbox Beyer in the early rounds. However, Beyer was the more skilled boxer and he opened up a large points lead. Near the end of the fight, Green realized he needed a knockout to win. He took the last three rounds, and scored the fight's only knockdown in the final round. Beyer was a majority winner on two of the three cards, with one judge scoring it a draw).

Green dismissed his trainer, former world champion Jeff Fenech, and hired famed Cuban Olympic trainer Ismael Salas. Green stopped James Crawford in the 5th round of his next fight on 3 July 2005 in Perth.

Rivalry with Anthony Mundine

Green long had a rivalry with Australian Super Middleweight boxer Anthony Mundine, a son of former champion Tony Mundine. Following Green's loss to Beyer, both boxers found themselves at a low and negotiations commenced.

Green had more popular support among the public, but he was forced to make concessions to Mundine showdown. A qualifying fight was assigned for each man. The matches were on the same card in Perth on December 11, 2006. It was considered a double main event.

Green defeated Mexican Kirino Garcia in a match that went the full ten rounds. All three judges scored it a win for Green at 100-90. Green changed clothes and returned to watch Mundine battle New Zealander Rico Chong Nee.

Mundine entered to boos, catcalls and abuse. He stopped Nee in the third round, then threatened Green from the ropes. Mundine left the arena in a hail of plastic cups and bottles.

Green and Mundine in Sydney on 17 May 2006. Green did well in the opening rounds with his strong power jabs, but by the 6th round Mundine had taken control of the bout. Mundine landed a solid right hook on Green's jaw in round 7, and Green began to look fatigued. He managed to last the full 12 rounds, but Mundine won by a unanimous points decision: 118-113, 116-113 and 118-111.^{[2] [3]}

The following day, Green announced that the rivalry between Mundine and himself was over. He stated he respects Mundine as a fighter, but he would be seeking a rematch to prove he had had an off night.

Changing weights

After his loss to Mundine, Green moved back up to the Light Heavyweight to fight Jason DeLisle. Danny had fought Jason twice before, losing to him on points in 2000 as an amateur and beating him in 2003 by KO in the 5th.

Green and DeLisle fought on the 20th of Sept. Danny won convincingly by TKO in the 9th.

It was announced on 7 December that Danny's next opponent would be fellow Australian Paul Murdoch. The light heavyweight bout took place 21 January and Green won the bout, stopping Murdoch in the second round when a member of his corner threw in the towel.

Following the Murdoch bout it was announced that Danny's next opponent would be Manny Siaca in an IBO World Title Eliminator. However the fight was cancelled after Siaca contracted a viral infection and in its place Green fought American Otis Griffin at Challenge Stadium on 19 July. Griffin, who began his boxing career after winning a reality TV show hosted by Oscar de la Hoya, was no match for Green who knocked him down three successive times in the third round.

His next bout was against World Boxing Association light heavyweight champion Stipe Drvis at Challenge stadium, where Green won the title by a unanimous points decision. Green became the first Australian light heavyweight champion since Jeff Harding's loss to Mike McCallum in 1994.

Retirement and return to ring

On 25 March 2008 Danny Green shocked the boxing community by announcing his immediate retirement from the sport. The retirement lasted until April 2009, when he returned to the ring and defeated Anthony van Niekerk in Perth.

On December 2nd Danny Green defeated Roy Jones, Jr. in Sydney to keep the International Boxing Organization cruiserweight title, claiming victory in the first round by Technical knock out. The round lasted 2 minutes and 2 seconds with Green, as he mentioned pre-fight, using tactics of punishing Jones Jr. early within the fight. ^[4]

Professional record

Documentary

In 2006 a documentary called The Fight Game was released based on Green. It covers the triumph and tragedy of the first four years of his professional boxing career. Also an interview/documentary with Green in 2008 after his retirement called Closed Fists, Open Heart which covers his entire boxing career up to his retirement.

Dancing With The Stars

Green was a contestant on the 2008 season of the Australian version of Dancing With the Stars. On Nov. 9, 2008, Green and partner Natalie Lowe finished second to actor Luke Jacobz and his partner Luda Kroitor.

References

1. ^ Fox Sports News Article [1]
2. ^ The Australian News Article [2]
3. ^ 15 Rounds Article [3]
4. ^ The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)[4]

External links

• Professional boxing record for Danny Green from Boxrec
• The Official Web Site Of Danny Green
• Danny Green Feature Interview and Pictures - The Globaltownhall
• Danny Green Photo Gallery