Exclusive Boxing Interview: Danny Green

Ex-WBC Interim Super Middleweight Champion Danny Green is in action tonight in his hometown at Challenge Stadium in Perth, Australia where he’ll face domestic rival and former world title challenger Jason DeLisle for the IBF Pan Pacific Light Heavyweight title belt. Coming off a high profile loss to

Anthony Mundine this past May and stepping up a weight class to rematch DeLisle, this is clearly the most dangerous moment in the professional career of Danny Green.

SaddoBoxing: How has training gone for this fight against Jason DeLisle?

Danny Green: “We’re just getting back to basics and I’ve realized that my strength in this sport is my strength. We’ve changed a few things around; we’re not preparing as long and as hard, the preparation hasn’t been as arduous as some others have been in the past, i.e. for the Mundine fight, which was a very long preparation because the fight got postponed.

“I’m looking forward to this fight and DeLisle has a lot to prove in this one, he’s hungry and coming off a world title loss. We’re both coming off big losses and are looking for big victories against each other. It’s one apiece, he beat me in the amateurs and I knocked him out as a professional and I’m looking to do that again in this fight.”

SB: How do you see the difference so far preparing for a fight at light heavyweight as opposed to super middle?

DG: “Well, I haven’t been soaking in hot baths at 10:30 at night to lose a kilo and a half in a steaming hot tub every night so I can wake up and have breakfast everyday. I’m not fighting the scales like I was before. I was on a very, very strict diet for four months before my last fight and I weighed under 72.3 kg and I was less than 3% body fat, which is basically unhealthy.

“It’s lower than what lance Armstrong does when he’s cooking up the hills in the Tour De France. To lose 8 kilograms off my body when I’m walking around at 83 kilograms with a body fat percentage of 8% when I’m, at 83 kilos. I’m leaner than most people have ever been in their entire lives when I’m in my off season. I’m just naturally a skinny, kind of lean guy.

“Light heavyweight has been a little more comfortable for me and I’m looking forward to this fight against Jason and I’m going to see how I feel at this weight and take it from there.”

SB: Obviously, you’ve fought DeLisle twice before, so you know what to expect?

DG: “He’s beaten some good fighters and has been in with some of the world’s best, he went twelve rounds with Julio Gonzales for an IBF eliminator, he dropped Clinton Woods in their first fight and had him really hurt in the first round before having a very hard twelve round fight with him before getting stopped in the last round. He fought Woods again in a rematch and was doing well, winning a few rounds but then lost his focus for a couple of rounds and was stopped.

“The first fight was a different fight and I think Clinton did his homework before the second fight. Jason is a very rugged, tough guy and if you don’t go in prepared 100%, you’re going to have a very hard night. He’s got the ability to upset people; he can punch, he can take a punch and he’s got the heart of a lion. I’m looking forward to it. We’re pretty good mates outside the ring and we’re both pretty good characters inside the ring as we both like to let ’em go and there’ll be no respect shown once the bell goes.”

SB: Is it important for you to knock DeLisle out?

DG: “No, it’s not important for me to knock anyone out. My hand raised in victory by the referee at the conclusion of the fight is what’s important. But, I love to get a knockout! (laughs) Every fighter loves a knockout, there’s no two ways about it. I’m preparing for twelve hard rounds because DeLisle is known as a warrior but saying that…everyone says how tough Jason DeLisle is, but I’m tougher than Jason DeLisle. I know I’ve got more heart, more determination and more toughness than Jason DeLisle has, so it’s going to be a very interesting fight.

“I pay Jason a lot of respect. He’s a tough guy, he’s a warrior and he deserves a lot of respect but when I look back about saying things like that, I think, ‘Hang on, I’m tougher
than Jason DeLisle; I punch harder, I’m faster. I realize it’s going to be extremely hard but if I remain confident and believe in what I have, and I believe that I have an edge over Jason in all areas, then I’m confident of victory. I’m not looking at anything else other than a victory in this fight.”

SB: If things go as planned against DeLisle, will you be campaigning as a light heavyweight from now on?

DG: “I have really have no comment on anything other than this fight, I’m not looking past this fight and I haven’t even thought about it to be honest. This is for the IBF Pan Pacific title so it’s hopefully going to get one of us a good ranking in the IBF and the WBA as well as it’s for the PABA Interim title, so it’s only a minor title as far as that goes. It’s not for world titles but it’s going to get rankings in the WBA and IBF in the light heavyweight division, so it’s a very important fight in that respect but that’s as far as I’m looking. The next day is when I’ll sit down, after I’m victorious in the DeLisle fight, with my manager and we’ll look at where we go from there.”

SB: Is there anything you’d like to say?

DG: “I don’t have much else to say but I’m relaxed, I’m comfortable, I’m pretty happy at the moment the way my preparation is going and mentally I’m in a good frame of mind. I just want to say to my fans, the people who have supported me and stayed loyal to me that I can’t thank them enough for the overwhelming support I received after the Mundine fight, even though I lost and there was so much expectation of me winning, my fans have been just so supportive and I want to say thank you very much and I look forward to repaying the loyalty and the faith that they’ve shown to me by winning the fight on September 20 against Jason DeLisle.”