Danny Green Vs the Boxing World: What’s Next for “the Green Machine”?
By Geno McGahee
The IBO Cruiserweight Champion, Danny Green, 31-3, 27 KO’s, is capitalizing on his first round knockout over Roy Jones, JR., in December 2009, and is currently one of the biggest names in the sport.
In his most recent defense of his IBO Title, he outworked BJ Flores, an undefeated and highly skilled cruiserweight. It was a great rebound fight after a controversial win over Paul Briggs, where the challenger collapsed after twenty seconds when a glancing jab landed. An investigation was conducted and Green was cleared of all wrong doing, but he needed a BJ Flores type of fight to get back on the right track and now the stage is set for some big and exciting fights.
There are many options for Green, including a move to the heavyweight division, following David Haye and Tomasz Adamek.
RSR examines the options.
WBA Champion, Guillermo Jones, 37-3-2, 29 KO’s
The very inactive WBA Champion, Jones, is a huge puncher that has squashed good fighters like Wayne Braithwaite (KO-4), Firat Arslan (KO-10), and most recently Valery Brudov (TKO-11). He’s moved up to heavyweight a couple of times and was successful, but has found his way back to the 200 pound division and after a two year layoff, has returned and looked decent for a fighter with so much time on the shelf.
Jones vs. Green would be a war and the judges could just sit back and watch the fight. There would be no final bell and it would be a unification, which would sweeten the pot. A great fight for the fans.
WBO Champion, Marco Huck, 30-1, 23 KO’s
The champion, Huck, has had a very good run of it lately. He won his title in 2009 and has defended it four times successfully against very good opposition. He is extremely active and doesn’t duck anyone and would be a great test for Green, most likely being the favorite going in.
Huck’s only defeat came to current IBF Champion, Steve Cunningham in 2007, but he has rebounded nicely against opponents like Brian Minto (KO-9) and most recently, Matt Godfrey (KO-5). He is set for a December defense against the undefeated Denis Lebedev, and should he overcome that, a unification with Green would be another great fight.
IBF Champion, Steve Cunningham, 23-2, 12 KO’s
The IBF Champ holds victories over both Huck and Jones and had a great fight in which he lost a split decision to Tomasz Adamek. The fight could have gone either way, and his other defeat to Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, a loss he avenged. Both of his defeats can be disputed and he is a hard man to beat.
Recently, he beat Troy Ross, and is now looking for an opponent, and Green may fit that bill. What bodes well for Green is that Cunningham has looked great at times but has also looked mediocre at other outings. He has been down in his career, but the low knockout percentage is deceiving. Cunningham can punch. Green cannot throw caution to the wind in a fight with him.
Roy Jones, JR., 54-7, 40 KO’s
Make no mistake, there is absolutely no way that Roy would step into the ring with Green again, and if he did, he would not make it to the second round and later claim loaded gloves again, I’m sure, but this wouldn’t be a bad fight for Green.
The best moment of his boxing life thus far was tarnished by Roy’s allegations that were, as always self-serving and at the expense of somebody else. He has never given any fighter any credit for defeating him, and went overboard with Green to salvage his pay per screw event with Bernard Hopkins. If Roy wants to right a wrong, take on Green again. Let’s see what excuse Roy can come up with this time.
Danny Green deserved the victory over Jones and the accolades that come with it, but Roy used the Antonio Margarito scandal to his advantage and tried to take away from Green, and it actually did. It was unfair and to settle the matter, it would be nice for Green to go in there and do it again after they fully inspect the gloves, although I doubt we’d hear “he beat me fair and square.”
A Move up to Heavyweight
There are several marquee heavyweight match ups for Green, including a showdown with David Haye, the WBA Champion, Tomasz Adamek, and possibly Antonio Tarver, the former light heavyweight champion. There are enough smaller heavyweights on the scene for Green to compete, but like the majority of the smaller guys, they most likely want to avoid Klitschko country. The Klitschkos are on such a roll lately and continue to improve that it would be hard to imagine that a former cruiserweight could overcome the odds and take one of them down. Obviously, Haye has the best chance with his mixture of speed, timing, and power, but the others really have their work cut out for them.
The future belongs to Danny Green at this time. He is gaining popularity, has been beating notable fighters, and has many high profile options awaiting him. 2011 is going to be a good year for the IBO Champ.