Dave “Boy” Green: Remembering One Tough As Nails Fighter

By Jim Amato

Dave “Boy” Green took England by storm when he turned pro in 1974. He won his first 24 fights as he quickly climbed the ladder. In 1976 he halted Billy Waith in an eliminator for the British junior welterweight title. Later in the year, he stopped Joey Singleton to win the British title. 1976 continued to be a big year for the busy Green as he defeated seasoned veterans Ramiro Bolanos and Jimmy Heair. Davey finished the year by knocking out Jean Baptiste Piedvache to win the European 140 pound title.

Six months before Green’s win over Piedvache, John H. Stracey the man who had finally dethroned the great Jose Napoles surrendered the welterweight title to Carlos Palomino. The drums were now beating for a match between Green and Stracey. Finally, in March of 1977, the two met at Wembley. This much anticipated fight ended with Green the winner in the tenth round.
Next up, was a shot at Carlos Palomino and the WBC welterweight crown. This fight took place in June of 1977. What a fight it was. Green was never one to take a backward step and he forced the action from the beginning. Palomino was as tough as nails. He was a great counter puncher. He was also a devastating body puncher as Stracey had found out. Nevertheless Green forced Carlos to give ground early in the fight. As the bout wore on Palomino was working his way back in but after ten rounds it was a very close fight. Then in round eleven, boom and it was over. One punch left Green out on the canvas. Palomino had retained his title and Green had taken his first defeat.

Three months later the gritty Green bounced right back to outpoint the formidable Andy Price. A fighter who held victories over Palomino and WBA champion Pipino Cuevas. That was the start of a seven fight win streak for Dave. It all came crashing down in June of 1979 when Green was surprisingly stopped by Denmark’s Joergen Hansen in the third round for the European welterweight title.

Dave came back to win two fights and then found himself again challenging for the WBC welterweight title. Palomino had been outboxed by the clever Wilfred Benitez in losing his title. In turn, Benitez was halted in the final round by Sugar Ray Leonard who was now the champ. On March 31, 1980, Green came to America to challenge Leonard. With one of the most devastating left hooks I’ve ever seen Leonard flattened Dave in round four. It was a brutal knockout.
It is hard to recover from a loss like that but Green put together four wins to stay in contention. Finally on November 3, 1981 Green lost in five rounds to Reggie Ford, a fighter with an 8-7-1 record. It was time to hang up the gloves.

Green ended his career with 41 fights. He won 37. In all four of his losses he was stopped. In turn he won 29 by the kayo route. He was among the best welterweights in the world in an era when the welterweight division was loaded with talent.