Danny Green

At 51 years old, Danny Green has this physical status:

Daniel Thomas Green (born 9 March 1973) is an Australian professional boxer who also works as a health and fitness coach.

He competed in the WBA light-heavyweight championship from 2007 to 2008, the IBO cruiserweight championship twice between 2009 and 2013, as well as the WBC interim super-middleweight championship from 2003 to 2005.

Personal life

Green was born in Perth, Western Australia, on March 9th, 1973. After another bad season, Green's father (Mal) was forced to move his family from his farm in the WA wheat belt to Perth. "Dad taught me the skills he acquired growing up in the bush and surviving through rough times," Green said, "You can always pick yourself up and start over." Green was educated at Newman College in Perth.

Surfing and ping-pong are two of Green's hobbies. "Part of his time" is spent outside of his jobs with children's charities and assisting indigenous causes.

In 2002, Green married Nina at the Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas, and the two children are named Chloe (born 2002) and Archie (born 2007). He has an older brother (Brendan, who was drafted by the West Coast Eagles in 1992 and later played for Claremont) and two sisters (Sharni and Narelle). Green lives in Perth.

Green supports the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League, and has also given players pre-match pep talks.

Green launched Stop The Coward Punch campaign, which aims to discourage kings from attacking Daniel Christie after the 2012 king-battered attack on him.

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Amateur career and the Olympics

Green had tried martial arts and kickboxing as a youth and had his first amateur boxing match at age 20.

In 1998, Green was given a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport, and he received a bronze medal at the Liverpool International Boxing Tournament in the same year. He was chosen for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, but he lost his hand and was unable to qualify for medals.

Green lost a "fee competition" against Victorian Nathan Woodham at the 2000 Australian National Championships in Broadbeach (a boxer who would go on to win twice in his career). Jason DeLisle was disqualified by a Tongan fighter, and Green "took the field" to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics boxing.

Green competed in the 81 kg (179 lb) division at the Olympic Games, defeating Brazilian Laudelino Barros in the fourth round of his first bout. Green was disqualified by Russian Alexander Lebziak in his second bout, but also by a "referee canceled contest" decision in the fourth round. Green broke his hand while fighting Lebziak (who went on to win the gold medal in the competition). Green referred to Lebziak as his toughest critic in 2010, saying "he was a Russian general in the military, nicknamed 'The Animal,' and he had a head impervious to punishment."

"Green" finished his amateur career with a record of 35 – 8 (21) and a 16 – 6 international record."

Professional career

Green became a professional wrestler at the age of 28 and has won 33 fights in a nine-year career. Five of his battles took place outside of Australia.

Green has retained former world champion Jeff Fenech, Cuban-born Ismael Salas (from mid-2005), and Angelo Hyder (from mid-2009), whom Green has described as the world's best in the world.

Green turned professional under trainer Jeff Fenech, who took over as the Bankstown Police and Community Youth Club in March 2001, following the 2000 Olympics. Green won his first professional match over Waqa Kolivuso in Sydney on June 29, 2001. Green said in a 2008 interview that his fight fund was A$1,200.

Green won his first sixteen fights by knockout, eventually earning himself a title fight with Germany's supermiddleweight world champion Markus Beyer at the Nürburgring in Germany on August 16th. Beyer had green floored in each of the two first rounds and was ahead on points when the match was stopped in the fifth by American referee Bill Clancy – who ruled Green to have intentionally headbutted his opponent. A deep cut across Beyer's right eye meant he could not continue fighting, but Green's side argued that the cut had been made by a previous punch. Green would have won on points at the time of stoppage if an injured boxer was unable to recover due to an accidental headbutt, but "Senior WBC officials Enza Jacoba and Rubin Martinez released a rule-book for Clancy, stating that if an injured boxer was disqualified because of a cut caused by an intentional headbutt." "I should be the champion now, but I am not... I'm not sure..." It's a disgrace, but Beyer "disguished Green's tactics as unjustified." The greens' purse for the fight was A$30,000.

Green won the interim WBC super-middleweight title in Montreal, Canada, on December 20, 2003, defeating Eric Lucas in a sixth-round knockout, then defeated New Zealand warrior Sean Sullivan by a unanimous decision on March 21 in Perth.

Green defeated Argentina Omar Eduardo Gonzales in Sydney on September 29th, his first professional appearance of his career). A cut over Gonzales' right eye was considered too severe to continue in the fifth round, and as Green was leading on two fronts (though not drawn on the third), he was given the victory.

Green's results earned him a rematch with Beyer, the reigning world champion and super-middleweight champion. On March 12, 2005, Beyer's second meeting with him took place in Zwickau, Germany. Green knew he was in danger by the tenth round if he didn't knock him out" and he came back - knocking Beyer to the canvas for a mandatory eight count in the final round. Despite the late response, Beyer was awarded a majority point on two of the three cards, with one judge scoring the match as a draw. "Markus Beyer was the best man today," Green praised his opponent after the match, adding, "he came back so well since the last time we fought... it is a sign of a champion." "We must move forward following tonight's conflict," Greens Perth-based manager Wayne Loxley said. "We'll give Markus Beyer $1 million to Perth."

Green defeated American James Crawford in Perth on July 3rd, 2005, under new coach Ismael Salas. Crawford had been knocked down three times in the fifth, but the referee called the game off. Green challenged Anthony Mundine, a former rugby league star who had been fighting with Green and his longtime coach Jeff Fenech for many years, to step into the ring with him straight after the match.

Green defeated Mexican Kirino Garcia in Perth on December 11, 2005. Green defeated Garcia with all judges giving Green every round. Kirino was only the second fighter (after Sullivan) to make the distance with Green, and Green said of his foe "He is a hell of a tough guy."

Green and Australian boxer Anthony Mundine competed back to the early 2000s, and by 2005, rivalry had "escalated into a bitter feud." The boxers held separate media interviews in the lead up to the war.

Both boxers had fights in Perth on November 11, 2005, as a precursor to their match. (Green defeated Garcia and Mundine stopped Rico Chong Nee in three rounds.)

On Saturday, Green and Mundine fought in front of more than 30,000 people at the Sydney Football Stadium. Green got off to a good start, but Mundine grew in confidence, and "by round five, it was bloody and visually exhausting." Both boxers were hoping for a knockout by the end of the twelfth round, but the fight went on and Mundine was named the champion in a unanimous points decision.

Mundine continued to fight, saying "I just want to thank Danny for a great fight" and that "He put on a good show and came prepared." Dan, I was the better man tonight, but Dan was the better man. "Thank you so much." "To be honest, it was a very difficult fight" Green told the crowd: "It's impossible to explain; some nights you fight some nights you don't." Choc isn't about to take anything away from him, and I'm not about to take anything away from him. I'm not going to say he did this and that, and I didn't do this. It was simple as that: I was defeated by a better man tonight on the night.

The bout was the "most watched pay-per-view television show in Australian history," at the time, and it is estimated that the fight grossed A$20,000,000. Greens earned A$2,500,000 for the war, while Mundine is rumored to have been promised A$3,000,000.

In 2009, a rematch between the two fighters was characterized as "much awaited," but it has yet to occur. "I've been there and done that (with Green), so the only thing that will inspire me for this fight is the money," Mundine said in March 2009. I don't want to be fumbling around with no contenders. Green continued the rivalry into 2012: "He won the fight on the night, but since then, he's avoided the immediate rematch clause," Green says. "Most Australians are aware that the win is quite small, as far as he's fighting a dehydrated, starving ghost" (referring to the significant weight drop Green undertook for the fight against Mundine).

Following his humiliatal loss to Mundine, Green moved to the light-heavyweight class to face fellow Australian Jason DeLisle in Perth on September 21. Green's result was described as "dominating" and he unleashed "a deadly combination to finish off DeLisle" by losing in the ninth round.

Green defeated Paul Murdoch in a Pan Asian Boxing Association light-heavyweight match at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne on January 21, 2007. In the first round, green floored Murdoch "with a double left jab and then the game was over 65 seconds with a left hook." Green said "I think I did my best was definitely not past me" after the match, and "I'm going to say what I feel and the rematch is likely" following the match.

Green had intended to face Manny Siaca, but the Puerto Rican had to pull out of the match due to a viral infection. Rather, Green defeated American Otis Griffin at the Challenge Stadium in Perth on July 18, 2007. Green won the tie by a narrow margin halfway through the third round after being knocked out. "Green immediately challenged IBO light-heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver to put his belt on the line in WA," he said to the crowd: "You want to do it Perth, Subiaco Oval, 25,000 people."

Green defeated Croatian Stipe Drews, the WBA light-heavyweight champion, at the Challenge Stadium in Perth on December 16, 2007. Drews was regarded as one of the world's best boxers, with 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) tall and "having lost only one of 33 fights before winning the championship over Italian Silvio Branco in April."

Green continued to fail, and the game was decided in a unanimous points decision. Green's win earned him the WBA light-heavyweight crown (his second world title), and he celebrated by running into the crowd to welcome his mother (who had been scheduled to give birth to their second child the day before the match).

Green resigned from boxing at a press conference in Perth on March 25, 2008. Hugo Garay of Argentina was the subject of a month away from announcing a proposed WBA light-heavyweight championship defense against Argentina's Hugo Garay. Green compared his decision to hang up his gloves as "a premonition, an epiphany" and that he wrestled with the decision, saying, "I am at the top of my game and at the top of his career." Green said that there was nothing physically wrong with him and that "I leave with my dignity and health intact." Anthony Mundine replied to the announcement by saying, "It's a smart move on his behalf... he was a good soldier and a busy soldier but not a good soldier," and "I'm glad he didn't run from the inevitable." "It's unfortunate that he didn't get a whipping again."

Green appeared in all ten episodes of the Australian television show Dancing with the Stars (season 8). After being defeated by Luke Jacobz and Luda Kroitor in the grand final, Green and his dancing partner Natalie Lowe finished runners-up. Green said he'd had a ball on the show, and he'd rather be punching him than dancing against him."

Green's retirement from boxing came to an end when he met South African Anthony van Niekerk in Perth on 26 April 2009 for a light-heavyweight match. Green got off to a promising start in the tournament and knocked his opponent in the second round with a "ideal pairing." Niekerk won the count, but Green didn't break the tie in the second round until the referee called for it to be called off. "I'm back guys, it's great to be in the ring, and my right hand was a potent weapon in there tonight," Green said to the audience.

On August 16, 2009, Green defeated Julio Cesar Dominguez, Argentina, in an IBO cruiserweight world championship fight in Mississippi, United States.

During the first round, a Green right caused the referee to give Dominguez a standing eight-count, and Green won the contest, with a performance that was characterized as "patient and clinical" and "dominating." Green tossed Dominguez twice on the ground in the fifth round, the second of which caused his corner to throw in the towel as their fighter "lay dazed on the ground."

Green paid tribute to his rival by saying, "This guy was really tough, he had to be broken down," and the audience applauded. "To the people of Mississippi, thankyou so much." Green had three world championships in three weight classes (as of 2009, Jeff Fenech was the only other Australian to have world titles in three different divisions).

Green lost his IBO cruiserweight crown on the line on December 2nd, 2009, and defeated eighth-time world champion Roy Jones Jr. at the Acer Arena in Sydney.

Green dropped Jones with a right punch midway through the first round and then "pummelled the American legend with a flurry of blows against the ropes," causing Howard Foster to call the game halted two minutes and two seconds into it. Following the match, Green said of his opponent: "I'd almost immediately regretted doing so to someone whom I aspire to see as a professional wrestler inside and out of the ring." "We don't make excuses, and it was a fantastic show by Danny," Jones told the audience.

Jones requested that his disqualification win be "overturned to a disqualification win," prompting the use of hand wraps in a lawsuit. Jones branded Green a cheater and lodged a formal complaint with the NSW Combat Sports Authority (NSWCSA). Jones also said that the referee had brought the fight too early in the months leading up to it. "THE hand wraps were the same wraps I used in five previous world championship matches, including in Germany, Montreal, Australia," Green replied to Jones with an open letter in March 2010; "MY hand wraps were examined by three independent inspectors of the NSW Combat Sports Authority, and they each confirmed that my wraps were legal and gave me no advantage whatsoever." The NSWCSA dismissed the case, but Green said he had "spent tens of thousands of dollars on legal representation and fees in an attempt to shield myself from unsubstantiated claims that should have been dismissed from the start." Green also said that the "unnecessary probe... destroyed his chances of promoting a lucrative'super bout' against legendary Bernard Hopkins in Sydney" and that the state premier Kristina Keneally should "initiate an inquiry into the Combat Sports Authority."

Jones brought a lawsuit against Green, citing: suspected use of unlawful hand wrappings, Green's refusal to invoke a match clause in the fight agreement, and Green Machine Promotions, Green's promotional firm, continued the row.

Green defended his IBO cruiserweight title in Perth on April 14th, 2010 a third-round KO by Jones and Briggs.

Green took on Paul Briggs for the IBO cruiserweight world championship on July 21. Since the New South Wales Combat Sports Authority refused to commission the fight "out of concerns about the medical fitness of 35-year-old Briggs," the match had to be relocated from Sydney to Perth at the last minute. Briggs denied that the allegations were rumored to be "neurological" in nature, although admitting that he had problems with his sense of balance). Briggs was a two-time world champion, but he hadn't competed for three years before being battling with Green.

After weighing in 3.2 kilograms (184 lb) before the fight, Green branded Briggs "very unprofessional" and "disrespectful" after he weighed-in 3.2 kilograms (7.1 lb) over the agreed-to-185 lb) fight limit (Green weighed-in at 83.6 kilograms (184 lb). Boxers are allowed to comply (as it did for the Green-Briggs bout) to a weight maximum that was not within the cruiserweight maximum, although boxers are not. Green may have called the match off based on weight transgression, but he opted to keep the fight going. "I haven't done anything wrong today," Briggs replied to the issue by saying. I've worked hard, and I've gained weight since being here. It's as simple as that.

Briggs were defeated 29 seconds into the first round after a left jab by Green, which seemed to have glanced off the top of Briggs' head. Briggs was booed and paraded with beer as he left the stadium, and the contest was described as "farcical."

In a post-bout interview, Green said of Briggs, "He ain't even a canine" and that Briggs wasn't "getting paid a cent" for the war. Green apologized to the crowd and was revealed as having "promised to make it up to his followers with another brawl." Following a flurry of bets (in the day leading to the fight) that resulted in the reduction of "odds" from $5 to odds-on before the game, Centrebet described the match as "highly, highly dubious." Briggs responded to the scandal by saying, "I didn't go dive, I've never in my life been diving."

Many boxing experts criticized the incident, with others comparing it to the 1996 Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson fight, which has sparked an investigation into the situation. Green contributed greatly to the investigation and sat with the commission for three hours. The WAPCSC's report branded the fight a "sham," fined Briggs A$75,000, but cleared Green of any wrongdoing. "I appealed the decision that my fight with Danny Green was fixed and I took a dive (the decision) was reversed in a court of law by three High Court judges in March 2012," Briggs said (via Facebook).

Green defended his IBO cruiserweight world title in Perth on November 17, 2010. Flores did not have any world titles at the time, but he was undefeated and formerly boxed as a heavyweight. "The most difficult part of this isn't his age, it's his speed, his strength, and size; not only is he a big unit, but he's a fast slick unit." Green entered the ring at 88.6 kilograms (195 lb), the heaviest he had ever fought, but Flores had an 18 centimeter (7.1 in) advantage. Flores was dubbed a "credible critic" by the time, and the match was seen as a way of addressing Green's dissatisfactions (arising from the Briggs war).

Despite being "forced on the back foot for much of the fight," Green won the twelve round match by a unanimous decision. Flores handled the Green blows well and gave Green a bloody nose in the eleventh round. Following the fight, Green acknowledged his supporters in the 5000-strong crowd and told them, "This one's for all of you." It was the first defeat of Flores' career.

Green defeated American Antonio Tarver (nicknamed the "Magic Man") for an IBO cruiserweight championship bout at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney on July 20th. Tarver, 42, was a former light-heavyweight world champion, and both he and Green were granted unanimous-decision victories.

In round two, Green was knocked out by a left, and Tarver was the most effective fighter in the first five rounds. Green provided better results in rounds six and seven, but Tarver's left-hand punches were "something to behold" in round eight. Green's corner called the match and Tarver was awarded a TKO victory after a "flurry of punches at the end of the ninth." It was the first time Green had been barred in his professional career.

Green apologised for the post-fight and said, "I couldn't do a thing right." "I'm not taking anything away from Antonio," he said of Tarver. He never said that 42 (years of age) was just a number, and he showed it tonight." Green had assaulted Tarver twice during the fight, and Tarver said that a rematch was a possibility. Tarver went on to thank Sydney "for staging this glorious war," but Green said, "You treated me with dignity and compassion."

Green defeated Polish fighter Krzysztof Wrzysztof Wrzysztof Wrzysztof Wrzysztof Wódrablo" in Perth on November 30th, 2011 in a WBC cruiserweight championship match. Johnny Lewis, the Australian boxing coach, referred to the match as "the war that gives Danny all legitimacy back" (Lewis, who believes that Briggs and Drews were inferior opponents to Green).

Green started the game strong, with commentators predicting that he would have won the first six rounds, but Wodarczyk "didn't appear to have been all that shaken up by the onslaught." In round seven, the Wodarczyk advanced, but the commentators expected Green to lead on points by the end of round nine. Green was beaten a bit by "a huge left" from Wodarczyk in round ten, according to a commentator, who was left with just a minute remaining in the eleventh round. Green returned to his feet, but the referee called off the match in order to give Wodarczyk a TKO win.

Green was "very generous" in defeat and congratulated his opponent for his victory (Wodarczyk's 46th in 49 fights). Green, who was in the ring, said he was uncertain what the future was like and said of the fight, "I took on the best cruiserweight in the country and was four minutes away from a fairy tale." After the Tarver war, Green said he was more happy with his appearance than he had been. Wodarczyk admitted that he had started the fight slowly but progressed toward the end, and "I think I felt less stress on me going away [from home]."

On December 2, 2011, Green refused to rule out retirement; he said, "age means nothing, it's up to individuals"; and "I would like to walk away saying that I can still beat the best."

Green revealed on June 6, 2012, that he would face American Danny Santiago on July 25, 2012 in Perth. The bulk of the press conference was spent discussing Anthony Mundine, and Green seemed to have planned "to sink to the light-heavyweight divide in an attempt to coax Mundine into a lucrative rematch." Green said, "This will be the last time I fight in Western Australia," and that "Nothing soft comes out of the Bronx, and he's a tough guy." In the fifth round of the July tournament, Green sent Santiago to the ground three times before losing by a TKO. When asked about his plans, Green remained "tight-lipped on his boxing prospects" and said, "I'm just going to relax and enjoy it."

Green's most recent competitive match was a points victory over Shane Cameron in Melbourne on November 21, 2012. The victory culminated in Green winning the IBO world cruiserweight championship (which was vacated after Antonio Tarver's positive drug test), but the fight was soon revealed at a Dannyweight of 194 pounds. Two weigh in events were scheduled within one day, with the Green promotion team assisting with the weight loss of Cameron and ensuring that he did not re-hydrate to a good degree. Referee Pat Russell was chastised for his inability and inclination to stop Green from punching Rabbit punches and overbearing him. Following the brawl, Green revealed that he had suffered with broken ribs as a result of a training injury several weeks before the match. Green, who claimed to Cameron (the Commonwealth champion), said of his opponent, "I'm proud I did it against a soldier and a much respected celebrity."

Green and Mundine rematch at the Adelaide Oval on February 3, 2017. Green was proclaimed the winner by chance in a contest in which both boxers were disqualified points, despite most analysts and bookmakers' knowing Mundine well ahead of the scorecards.

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