Green bashed Jones in one: a 1950's experience

Green bashes Roy in one! A 1950's experience

Mark E. Ortega

FightFanNation.com

December 2, 2009

It was like turning back the clock to the 1950's. To think that I stayed up until three in the morning Pacific time to listen to a live stream of Danny Green's IBO cruiserweight title defense against a 40-year old Roy Jones, Jr. proves either I need to enter a boxing rehabilitation clinic; or that even at the end of his illustrious career, Jones was able to remain relevant to the sport even though his place among today's top fighters prove otherwise. Danny Green virtually ended Jones' last moments as a relevant fighter by stopping Jones in the very first round of their much-anticipated clash, much of the damage being done on the first power shot he landed about a minute and a half into the round.

It became apparent late last night that the internet in Australia is still a work-in-progress, as nobody was expecting there to be a live stream of the fight at all. Hardcore boxing fans scoured the message board hoping to identify some way of following the night's fight between local hero Green and former pound-for-pound king Jones. For most, including myself, it came down to a middle-aged Aussie woman being walked through how to setup a justin.tv account so that she could point her severely debilitated video camera at her television screen in order for a few of us in the States and elsewhere in the world to be able to more or less be able to follow the action.

It was like watching a slideshow more than anything, but for many boxing fans it was enough. On top of the in-ring action, those who viewed the stream were treated to the humorous comments of the nice lady that set everything up, including a “Mundine sucks” when an advert for fellow Aussie Anthony Mundine's upcoming fight aired.

There are very few fighters that I would stay up until three in the morning to watch nowadays [without having any money involved], but a 40-year old Jones [who has not won a fight against a premium contender since his narrow victory in the first fight against Antonio Tarver a little more than six years ago] somehow makes the cut.

For his part, Danny Green hasn't won a fight on the world level in his entire career, which is part of what made this an interesting scrap. This was the kind of fight I tend to enjoy. It featured two [to their respective demographics] big names fighting each other in a bout that neither holds up anyone else in their division nor tries to disguise itself as something it is not, except for those few boxing scribes who noted incorrectly that Jones was vying to become the first man to win every title from middleweight to heavyweight. The IBO does not constitute a major world title and only those who are merely casual fans fell for that one. But based on the build-up, this fight was as highly anticipated as any previous one to take place in Australia since Green took on Aussie bad boy Anthony Mundine in a local battle of good versus evil.

The telecast also made me feel a bit privileged as an American boxing fan. In Australia, they were televising Bernard Hopkins' glorified tune-up against Enrique Ornelas only as pay-per-view while those of us in the States lucky enough to get Versus network will be able to see the fight coupled with a tape-delay of Green-Jones. This coming Saturday's bout between Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez is also an Aussie pay-per-view. Those who shell out the $20 a month for HBO in the States will get the bout as part of their service.

We were able to see the gamesmanship that Green and his camp displayed in voicing a concern over the wraps and gloves of Jones, forcing him to rewrap. Jones countered by entering the ring to Rihanna, which proved crucial in Shane Mosley's victory over Antonio Margarito earlier this January. Green answered back by entering the ring to Men at Work's “Land Down Under”, which was coupled by the Aussie lady providing the stream's rendition. At this point, the stream had hit 3,200 people and the Aussie lady proceeded to become embarrassed that this many people had heard her singing. Note that this is much better than most turnouts for small boxing club shows where you can actually follow the action.

In the center of the ring, Jones received a fair ovation, proving that Aussie fans were appreciative of the spotlight that Jones was bringing to this small country. Australia does their setup a little differently than the States, bringing both fighters into the ring and introducing them before launching into the respective national anthems. The female Aussie providing the stream chipped in brilliantly on the States' anthem. The young girl who is obviously the daughter calls her mom a traitor.

Even though I could hardly follow the action going on in the ring, it was a huge overhand right that landed near the back of Jones' head when Roy stupidly moved towards the far corner that hurt Roy, and it was a shot he would not recover from. Jones went down in a heap, and even though he made it to his feet his legs were not there and it was only a matter of time until the referee stopped the fight, officially at 2:02 of the first.

Green went about ten minutes too long into his post-fight interview, nearly undercutting those Australian fans that supported him, claiming that nobody had his back but a select few. Still, at the end of the day, Green will be the guy that puts an end to the legendary career of Roy Jones, Jr.

What this means is that, for once, a guaranteed payday for Bernard Hopkins is all for naught. You have to wonder if Hopkins has woken up yet for the day, and if he has, what his reaction will be. Hopkins couldn't dodge the bullet this time like he did when Oscar De La Hoya “beat” Felix Sturm back in 2004, and now Hopkins is left without a dance partner for early next year.

That is, unless you consider Green's performance big enough that a Hopkins-Green fight could sell. Probably not without Hopkins travelling to Australia, so where do we go from here?

For what it was worth, I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning to see [or hear] the end of a legend's career, one that I grew up on and one that I followed closely for many years. Roy basically let on that he will retire following this loss, as he should.

For a country, it may have been the biggest win in Australian history as far as the global circuit goes, and for that I hope it means that they work on improving their coverage of the sport as well as the internet of those that live there, so next time I want to stay up until three in the morning for a fight down under, it turns out a little better than a slideshow.