24.03.08 – by James Slater: Apparently, according to the word the majority of the Australian news media is giving, reigning WBA light-heavyweight king Danny Green, who hails from Australia, is about to announce his retirement from the sport. The reason for Green’s decision is not known (if it is indeed true) but reportedly the 35 year old Green made up his mind to call it quits just this past Sunday morning, and is scheduled to make an official announcement to the media this coming Tuesday..
If the rumours are true this is indeed a quite baffling and unpredictable development. Green, who lives in Perth, western Australia, and has a good 25-3(22) pro record, captured the WBA 175 pound title in his last fight, this past December. The 6’1″ Green boxed his way to a unanimous decision victory over Croatia’s Stipe Dews nine days before Christmas day. Yet now, with the opportunity to have some big and very meaningful fights in an interesting light-heavyweight division that boasts the likes of Roy Jones, Antonio Tarver, Clinton Woods, Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe and others, Green decides (allegedly, anyway) to hang up his gloves.
Again, this is a strange one. Perhaps Green feels, at age 35, that he has done all he can in the sport. Maybe winning a world title was his lifelong dream and now that this has been achieved the fighter feels he has no need to go on. Really, however, it is pointless trying to figure out just why the reigning world champ has decided to retire. There could be health reasons, but we will all have to wait until Tuesday’s announcement to see for sure.
Green was scheduled to make the first defence of his world championship this coming April, on the 28th, in Oz. The 30-3(17) Hugo Hernan Garay of Argentina was going to be the challenger, but it now looks like the 27 year old Garay will be boxing some one else, perhaps for Green’s vacated belt.
Danny, also a former (interim) WBC super-middleweight champion, who has wins over Eric Lucas, Jason DeLisle and Otis Griffin to his credit, along with close defeats to good men, Markus Beyer and Anthony Mundine, will be sadly missed if he does go through with his retirement from boxing. After having represented his country at the 2000 Olympic games, Green turned pro back in June of 2001, and of his three career losses none came inside the distance.