DANNY GREEN CONFIRMS HE IS ONE OF THE BEST AT 168 LBS! By Darren Yates, Down Under

The assessment I gave prior to this bout being a potential fight of the year did not come to fruition, this bout was not 'Harding-Andries I' repeated but the result I was hoping for became a reality! After a slow start and definitely losing the first two rounds, Danny Green stopped tough former WBC Super Middleweight title holder Eric Lucas when the Canadian's corner threw in the towel with only seconds remaining in the 6th round.

Round 1.
Lucas started fast and crisp catching Green within the first 30 seconds with a sharp left hook that demanded the Aussie's respect and attention. Green appeared to be very cautious and reluctant to throw meaningful punches and his jab was not effective at all. Danny green starts the fight off very cautiously and a bit stiff, he was throwing very few punches and not landing very many of what was thrown. Lucas was the one pressing the action and controlling the pace of the bout. Lucas put in some good effective body work on Green (not damaging) and Lucas landed a good double jab that snapped Green's head back towards the end of the round. Lucas seemed to have no trouble forcing Green to the ropes where he unloaded combinations that hit mainly gloves as Green's defence was the one part of his game that was working well. (10-9 round to Lucas)

Round 2.
Lucas continues to dictate the pace of the bout and continues to back Green up to the ropes. Danny Green is looking a little warmer and starting to throw more punches. Green lands his first meaningful punch of the bout, a good right hand 30 seconds into the round but was almost immediately countered by an equally good left hook from Lucas. Eric Lucas is getting the better of the exchanges but Green is starting to land his big right hand to the side of Lucas' head and Eric seemed to be taking Green's power without any problems and this was starting to concern me. Both men are showing they possess good chins. Lucas is trying to maneuver in close to work the body more, Green clinches and punches effectively in the clinches, a lot better than I anticipated. Lucas continues to work Green's body effectively as he did in the first round. Lucas lands a clean right hand lead straight through Green's guard to the head. Lucas appears to be fighting comfortably and well in control. (10-9 round Lucas)

Round 3.
At the beginning of the third round Danny Green seems to have come to life and starts to take the initiative and for the first time in the bout begins to move forward with effective combinations that moved Lucas back for the first time in the bout. Green is starting to establish a stiff jab and throwing the left hook off his jab and landing most of these punches. Green also starts to throw the right hand with more frequency and as Lucas ducks the first right hand, Green is now doubling and tripling up on the straight right hands and right hooks and is landing on Lucas temple whilst the Canadian is crouched down. Lucas forces Green to the ropes and works some nice body punches. Green counters with his back to the ropes and connects with three consecutive solid right hooks to Lucas' temple. Green is starting to use a lot of effective head movement to evade Lucas' punches. To his credit Lucas held his own in this round but it was very apparent the tide was beginning to turn in Danny green's favour. (10-10 Even Round)

Round 4.
Danny Green is fully relaxed and boxing beautifully utilizing a stiff jab and right cross whilst implementing good lateral and head movement. Eric Lucas' crisp punches visibly started to lose their speed and sting whilst Green appeared to be getting stronger as he gained more momentum. Lucas appeared to be taking Green's punches well but it was now becoming apparent that the heavier hands of Danny Green were beginning to take their toll. Green lands very solid left hook to Lucas' chin with 35 seconds remaining in the round, but to his credit the very tough Lucas lands a solid right hand of his own with 15 seconds remaining in the round. After absorbing some good shots, Lucas showed his tough reputation was no myth, counter punching Green as his head cleared towards the end of the round. With 5 seconds remaining in the round, both men clinch and exchange a couple of rabbit punches to the back of each other's craniums. In an extremely good spirited and CLEAN fight, this was about as dirty as the bout became. (10-9 Danny Green)

Round 5.
At the start of this round the hometown crowd is almost silent. Green is starting the round by landing double and triple straight right hands to Lucas' temple, a region which Green seem to be targeting with great regularity, something he confirmed at the press conference. The reason he gave is that he and his trainer (Jeff Fenech) felt this was a more vulnerable target than Lucas' granite chin. Green sensing he had his man hurt intensified his attack and ripped combinations into Lucas as the Canadian's situation became more desperate. Lucas accidentally head butts Green towards the end of this round, no damage done and neither fighter is complaining. (10-9 Danny Green)

Round 6.
Danny Green starts the round on his toes darting in and out with jabs and right crosses landing lightly and moving out of range before Lucas can counter punch. Danny Green continues to double and triple up on the lead right hooks and straight right hand punches landing almost at will to Lucas' temple (great to see a fight set a strategy and stick to his fight plan). Whilst this boxing display was not in the same caliber of a Pernell Whittaker or Oscar De La Hoya, it was still a pretty impressive display from a boxer with a reputation as a brawler who doesn't mind breaking the rules occasionally.

With 50 seconds to go in the round Lucas tries to trap Green on the ropes by extending some range finding jabs and just as Lucas tries to throw a big right hand, Danny Green beats him to the punch with a beautiful lead right hand cross whilst moving backwards (much like the punch Diosbelys Hurtado used to drop Kostya Tszyu and Randall Bailey in their bouts), to make matters worse, Lucas was also walked into the punch. Lucas' legs were buckled and he felt into the ropes, Green intensifies his attack and Lucas appears as if he would have gone down if not held up by the ropes.

 The fighters get back to center ring and Lucas tries to slug with Green but his legs are gone and Green lands a sensational right hand uppercut that dazes Lucas again and he falls back to the ropes and Danny Green mercilessly pummels his opponent on the ropes until the brave Lucas finally falls. Lucas looks to his corner and makes a gesture to his corner that he is hurt and I could sense that he knew there was no way he could not hold off Green in this hurt condition. Lucas' corner throws in the towel with good timing as it is tough and brave fighters like Lucas who end up with severe head injuries. There was no reason to left Lucas continue, he would have only endured more unnecessary punishment from Green who looked like he was getting stronger as the rounds passed.

Trust me on this... Danny Green is not the one dimensional slugger his perfect KO record might imply. He has very good boxing ability and whilst he is still a little raw, there is plenty of room for improvement from this fighter. The pleasing thing to me is that Green is showing improvement each time he fights. Danny Green's bout with Marcus Beyer proved he was world class even with very little experience and not having faced many world class opponents. This victory over a tougher and better fighter than Beyer goes to show how much talent and potential Danny Green possesses as he displayed a combination of power, speed, mobility, boxing skills and the ability to punch whilst moving backwards.

I do believe Marcus Beyer and his dodgy promoters will be very worried about the prospect of facing Danny Green on February 28 in Germany. It would not surprise me if Beyer for some reason has not recovered from the injuries or illness (whatever the real reason was for him not fighting Lucas) before the Green fight is due. Beyer was beaten up pretty badly by Green and all the damage was done by punches. By the time this fight comes Beyer may be recovered from the physical damaged inflicted by Green, but not the mental damage. Green is a bigger man than Beyer, faster, more powerful and just as good if not better with his boxing skills. I can't see what Beyer could possible do to hold off Danny Green next time around. The only way I can see Beyer retaining his tile this time is by some ridiculous stunt his promoters might try next time round. But next time round, don't expect Green to rough up Beyer like he did last time, Green gave Eric Lucas the beating of his life in one of the cleanest bouts I have seen in a long time and I think Danny will be very conscious the German promoters will be looking for an easy way for Beyer to retain his title again.

I think it would be wise for Jeff Fenech not to challenge any and everyone who is in the 168 pounds division or looking to move there. I do not think Danny Green is ready for the likes of Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins or Jeff Lacy just yet, leave them alone for at least another year. All of these guys represent too big of a risk at this point in time for Danny Green although I rate him at an even chance of beating Lacy. Bouts with the likes of Sven Ottke, Mads Larsen, Robin Reid, Byron Mitchell or even Syd Vanderpool are much more appropriate match ups for Danny Green at this point in his career; remember Jeff, Danny Green is still going through a learning phase.

I'd even been cautious taking a bout with Anthony Mundine at this stage too. Mundine has a lot of speed and Danny is not that quick on his feet when pursuing his man at this point in his career. Mundine tends to hold a lot also so I'd suggest if a bout with Mundine comes off, make sure it is written into the contract that excessive holding is not going to be tolerated by the referee. Whilst on the subject of Mundine, "The Man" was apparently pleased with Green's victory and thinks it is good for Australian boxing (true), he even offered some sensible advice to Green "Train hard and win Beyer's title". Nice to see "The Man" speaking without all the trash talk. Instead it was Tony Mundine (Anthony's father) who chose to make unreasonable comments. Quotes listed in Sydney's Daily Telegraph this morning from Mundine Senior:

"I think the Canadian dogged it. I had the local boy ahead after the first two rounds. He just played with Danny in the ring. I reckon the fight was a set up. I can't understand why Lucas' corner threw in the towel. The way I saw it, the boy wasn't hurt. Green never marked him. He never gave him a flogging."

You didn't have to be a genius to work out Lucas won the first two rounds. Why would a promoter go to so much trouble and expense to set up a fighter they had no interest in such as Green. As for Lucas not being hurt, well perhaps Mundine Senior should review his previous comments concerning being hit on the temple. He himself said he was KO'd by a single punch to the temple during his career (as his son was by Sven Ottke). Also, since when did bruises or cuts give a complete accurate indication of the beating a fighter takes. There have been a lot of fighters hurt badly who looked fine on the surface. Bruises can be just skin deep! Just when Team Mundine get its act together, someone in the Mundine camp lets the side down with ridiculous statements.

Congratulations to Danny Green on a superb victory in hostile territory, unfavorable climatic conditions and against a tough, vastly more experienced opponent whom on paper he was not supposed to beat. I hope he enjoys this victory and takes a well earned break over Christmas. I am looking forward to February 28, if Marcus Beyer decides to fight him again. Don't be surprised if this fight doesn't happen, perhaps Jeff Fenech needs a back up plan and have either Sean Sullivan or Gurkan Ozkan on standby for a fight with Green at short notice.

12-20-03

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