Green to put it all on the line against returning Briggs
On July 21st, Danny Green (29-3, 26 KOs) will be putting his pride and record on the line when he takes on the highly motivated, returning former two-time world title challenger Paul Briggs (26-3, 18 KOs), a man who has been out of action since 2007 in a twelve round championship fight for Green's IBO cruiserweight title.
Briggs, who twice fought Poland's Tomasz Adamek for the WBC light heavyweight world title in two fight of the year contenders in the US, will end his three-year hiatus from the ring for the highly anticipated matchup against Green.
The idea of this fight is the aftermath of over five years worth of build-up between Green and Briggs, who are former sparring partners and have campaigned at almost the same weight when both fighters were at the peak of their powers.
The two fighters have sparred each other numerous times in preparations for respective fights, with all observers in attendance believing that they could have made a fortune by charging spectators in the sessions; given the brutality was on display.
"There was a lot of blood, a lot of sweat and a lot of injuries and there was a lot of respect," Green said.
That respect will now count for nothing however, until the final bell on sounds on July 21st. The fight will mark the third title defence of Green's IBO cruiserweight title which he won and defended successfully twice last year.
Coincidentally, Briggs was ringside for the big upset as he was part of the commentary team that covered the clash between Green and future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr.
Green, the defending champion says he has everything to lose and Briggs has everything to gain in the long anticipated bout. Both Green and Briggs are vowing to avoid the usual trash talk in the lead up to the event, however unsurprisingly the words still flowed with both fighters obviously keen to win the award for the best one-liner of the day.
Briggs, who is not an advocator of trash talk or big-noting pointed out as a natural born fighter, preparation and motivation, was and is not a necessary step for him to take during his training camp.
"My version of out of shape is the average person's super-fit," Briggs stated.
For many years, Green has mocked and ridiculed his bitter rival Anthony Mundine for fighting fighters that were brought in to be beat, jumping in weight or quite simply below par. However, Green was adamant that Briggs, despite the lengthy layoff would prove to be a worthy opponent and contender for his title. To reiterate his point, Green used his own successful return from retirement to back-up his argument.
"Briggsy has had three years off; that might work to his advantage. I had 18 months off and I'm fighting the best I've ever fought. Of course I'm the favourite going into the fight and Briggsy has got nothing to lose. I've got everything to lose."
Briggs, who is known as "The Hurricane" retired in 2007 after a health scare but is coming back with a clean slate of health and is ready for one final run at the title. Amazingly, Briggs has only lost two fights since 1997, both of which were the result of close decisions and brutal fights with the two-time, two weight division world champion and current heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek.
Local hero Danny Green is a three-time world champion in three separate weight divisions and one of Australia's most committed athletes in any sport, winning 27 of his 30 professional bouts. Danny's last fight in Sydney in December against Roy Jones Junior saw the boxing legend taken out in just 122 seconds.
If Briggs, like he states is motivated and ready to return to the ring, then Danny Green may have got much more than he has bargained for. Time will tell.