Rebuilding the Green Machine
 Interview by Anthony Cocks, Site Editor (July 24, 2005)
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Four months ago a dejected Danny Green slowly paced around a lonely German ring in awaiting the announcement of the judges’ scorecards. When the ring announcer read the first card as 114-114, the 32-year-old Australian’s spirits were momentarily buoyed. But when scores of 114-113 and 115-112 were read out in favour of WBC super middleweight champion Markus Beyer, Green was not surprised.
“Without doubt I was over trained for that fight,” revealed Green, 20-2 (19). “I don’t want to go dwell too much on the past, but I was well past my peak and flat as a tack. And actually the only thing that got me through that fight was my heart and my balls. I peaked two weeks before that fight and I was seriously flat going into that fight and that’s something that I’ve learnt from.”
The loss was made even more bitter by the fact that Green felt robbed in his first fight against Beyer in August 2003 when he was disqualified in the 5th round for reckless use of his head. At the time of the stoppage Beyer had twice been on the canvas and had a particularly nasty cut over his right eye caused by a legal blow. The rematch was supposed to right this perceived wrong, but after time to reflect Green remains philosophical about the result of the return bout.
“I think it’s a learning experience and I’ve certainly learnt from that,” Green said of the disappointing loss. “I’ve taken something positive away from a negative. We discussed that at length and that won’t happen again hopefully and it’s something we can work on.”
One of the casualties of Green’s second loss to Beyer was his longtime trainer Jeff Fenech. The three time world champion and Hall of Famer had been in Green’s corner since he turned pro after the 2000 Olympics. It was a difficult decision for Green to make, but one that was expedited by Fenech’s decision to train Mike Tyson for his ill-fated bout against unheralded Irishman Kevin McBride in June. Replacing Fenech in the corner is Bangkok-based Cuban Ismael Salas, an accomplished but low profile trainer.
Green returned to the winners circle with a dominant win over well traveled journeyman James Crawford at Challenge Stadium in his hometown of Perth earlier this month. Boxing effectively behind a sharp, accurate jab, Green stepped up the pressure as the rounds wore on, landing crisp hooks and jarring right hands with increasing frequency. The 5th round saw Crawford deposited on the canvas three times, prompting referee Brad Vocale to halt the action at 2:08 of the round.
“I did what I trained to do,” said Green of his recent victory. “Salas and I trained very, very hard on our technical approach and staying relaxed and focused and not losing control. Working a lot off the jab and keeping consistent with my reach and power, using my power from a distance. I’m very content and satisfied with my performance that I displayed on Sunday afternoon. I didn’t get hit very many times at all and kept him at a distance and used my power and started to getting back to using the explosive power I once possessed probably a year and a half ago. I’m very, very satisfied.”
It was a welcome return to form for Green, who vanquished the ghosts of the Beyer loss by opting to box rather than brawl.
“We trained very hard to keep things up behind the jab, trying to be consistent using that technique,” said Green. “Also trying to evade punches by taking a simple step back, just using my feet and being more educated than before. Not jumping around, just being very economical with my movements around the ring. I’m pretty happy with the way things went, but I realize I can’t get too excited and carried away with the victory. I’ve got to remain calm and focused for the future.”
The addition of Salas in the corner has bolstered Green’s confidence and along with a new strength and conditioning team he is looking forward to making a third run at the WBC title.
“I’ve changed a lot mate,” said Green. “My training regime has changed a helluva lot. I’ve applied a strength and conditioning team in Hayden Knowles and Craig Catterick. I said to those guys eight weeks ago ‘I want my power, my activity and my agility increased boys, can you do that?’ And they set about the task and I think they succeeded in the short time they had. We realize we’ve got a bigger plan, a bigger picture, but we only had a short time to start the ball rolling, but so far so good. Especially with my trainer Salas, it’s far more educated and it’s a lot more programmed and scientific. I’ve never trained harder in my life and incorporating and instilling the kind of old school hard work ethic which I’ve always had and always will maintain. Just being a lot smarter with it and maintaining that educated style. I’m really happy with the way Salas and I have clicked. He’s a very experienced guy and as you saw in the corner he’s very calm and very, very controlled, so I was really happy.”
While Fenech focused on bringing out Green’s aggressive nature, Salas has worked on harnessing his natural strength and power to build a more composed, methodical Green Machine.
“Salas is very, very educated and his whole approach is clicking on the night of the fight, so we get a fight date roughly worked out and then work back from there,” explained Green. “We work out every single training program from day to day for every single day leading up to the weigh in. It’s a very worked out program and something that I am really happy with and excited about for the future.”
At a press conference in Perth on Thursday it was announced that Green’s next opponent will be highly ranked American Scott Pemberton, 29-3-1 (24), who is best known for his two exciting wars with former world title challenger Omar Sheika that were televised on ESPN.
Although the exact date is yet to be set, the fight is expected to take place some time in October.
“Scotty Pemberton is a tough guy,” said Green. “He’s been around, he’s an experienced fighter and he has got a big heart. I’ve got a lot of respect for Scott Pemberton and to fight him would be the hardest fights of my career because he’s very strong and he has a never-say-die attitude which is always dangerous. He’s at his most dangerous when he’s hurt actually. Salas and I have studied him quite intensively; the last two years I’ve studied him and recently Salas has too. I definitely think that I will beat Scott Pemberton once we fight; it’s a fight that I’m very confident of winning. But in saying that I will have to be in the best shape and the best prepared condition of my life because he’s a real fighter, he’s one of those old school warriors.
“I’m very happy with my performance against James Crawford, but each fight that goes ahead is going to be harder and harder, so I realize my preparation and attention to detail is going to have to be even more focused.”
In Pemberton, Green will be facing a fighter who can punch just about as hard as he does, and while he isn’t taking the 38-year-old ‘Sandman’ lightly, he knows that a win will simply move him one step closer to the coveted world title.
“Scott Pemberton is the number one ranked fighter in the WBC,” said Green, “so I want to take his ranking and become the mandatory for Markus Beyer because unofficially between myself and Markus it’s one a pop. And I believe a third fight would be huge for boxing in general.
“I want to be the WBC champion once again and keep it in Australia where it belongs.”
After his recent win over Crawford, Green was handed a mobile phone while leaving the ring. On the other end of the line was former WBA titleholder and archrival Anthony Mundine, who seized the opportunity to issue a challenge to Green.
“Mate I couldn’t hear what he was saying,” said Green of the conversation with the outspoken former rugby league player. “I had just left the ring and I didn’t know if it was a gee up or if it was for real. I could hear the voice faintly and I could hear it was distinctly Mundine’s voice so I knew it was Choc on the phone. But what he was saying I had no idea because it was that loud that it was impossible for me to translate anything that Choc was saying. I got a gist of what was going on – anytime, anywhere – and he was saying all we have to do is sign the contract. Well we haven’t seen a contract so it’s pretty hard to sign something that’s not there.
“It’s just a matter of when and where between myself and Choc, so that’s something that’s obviously very exciting for me in the future as well. We’ve just got to wait and see when and where the fight will happen, but it will take place and once again you’ll see Choc doing all the talking and hopefully it’ll be me doing all the fighting inside the ring.”
Despite the now infamous phone call looking like a promising precursor to the fight that all Australian fans want to see, it seems that the reality is that the fight is no closer to coming to fruition than before.
“Mate I haven’t spoken to Choc and neither has anyone from my company Green Machine Promotions,” revealed Green. “They haven’t spoken to Choc, so we’ll wait and see what happens. Apparently he was going to call me up but he hasn’t called back, so we’ll wait and see. I’ve got a message bank so if he leaves a message I’ll get back to him.”
In the meantime Green is focusing on Pemberton and continuing to learn under the tutelage of Salas.
“It’s great mate,” said Green of his relationship with Salas. “I’m happy to have Salas there and he’s had a lot of experience and he’s taught me a great deal so far. There’s a lot more that I can learn from Salas, there’s no two ways about it. So I’m just excited about learning more as well. I realize that I’m not the best fighter in the world and I never claim to be. But I train very hard and there’s not many fighters out there who train as hard as I do and I’m proud to say that. I think that’s what gets me over the line as well, my work ethic and my dedication.” |
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