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Danny Green - Source: Photosport -
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Danny Green "the slugger from Scarborough" now sits proudly atop the boxing world but rewind a decade and he wasn't even sure he would have a professional boxing career.
A world title belt winner in three different divisions, 36-year-old Green ensured himself of a place in Australia's boxing history by destroying four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr in just 122 seconds in Sydney last Wednesday.
The result shocked the boxing world and was unquestionably the defining moment and most impressive victory of Green's career.
A late blooming pugilist, Green didn't turn professional until after the 2000 Olympics and was actually halfway into his 29th year before he first punched for pay.
Green represented Australia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and then at the 2000 Olympics, but between times hand injuries cast a cloud over whether he had any long term future in the sport.
"In October 1999 I had an operation on my hand and was out of action and unsure of my future, because it was the third break I had in that hand," Green told AAP before his demolition of Jones.
"The surgeon was confident, but everyone said `you can't do it you're hand is fucked' and ten years later I am still going strong."
A series of battered opponents can ruefully attest to the punching power of Green who recently came up with the memorable phrase that his "fists are like bricks".
In compiling a record of 28-3 with 25 KOs Green has either stopped or knocked down almost everyone of his opponents bar his arch rival Anthony Mundine.
He never dreamt a decade ago when his future as a boxer was clouded that he would one day own a collection of world title belts and shared the ring with a living legend like Jones.
At the time Green was striving to make the 2000 Olympic team, Jones was in the midst of a 15-bout winning streak over a span of almost seven years which would establish him as the planet's most feared and respected pugilist.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I would be sitting here with three world titles in three different divisions," Green said.
"It has come through hard work, determination, self belief, but also a fair bit of humility.
"Because if you don't remain humble and realise where you came from on a constant basis you will lose where you are going.
"I'm a slugger from Scarborough who has won three world titles but I'm still blue collar and I'm proud of that."
It's that everyman image and his amiable knock about larrikin personality which has made Green such a popular figure.
While his adversary Mundine polarises opinions with his outspoken and often boastful comments, Green enjoys widespread popularity.
In one sense however both men are similar in that Mundine has also enjoyed considerable success, winning world title belts in two different divisions.
In his fledgling days as a new professional, Green was sometimes accused by cynics of trying to promote his own career by calling out the more experienced and better known Mundine, who established himself in rugby league before turning to boxing.
Mundine started his professional boxing adventure almost one full year to the day before Green threw his first punch for pay in June 2001.
Green won his first 16 fights inside the distance and dropped Markus Beyer in each of the first two rounds before suffering a controversial disqualification loss to the German fighter in their WBC super middleweight title fight.
He won an interim version of the title against Canadian Eric Lucas in Quebec four months later before losing a majority decision in his rematch with Beyer in March 2005.
After training initially under Australian boxing icon and three division world champion Jeff Fenech, Green linked with Cuban Ismael Salas and more recently fellow Australian Angelo Hyder, who did a fine job of keeping him relaxed before the high profile clash with Jones.
Family is a key factor in the life of Sydney-based West Australian Green.
He dedicated his victory over Jones to the memory of his dead niece Sophie.
In the aftermath of his victory over Jones, Green was more interested in talking about taking his seven-year-old daughter Chloe to a Perth surf club on Sunday than discussing the prospect of some big money fights in the future.
The wisecracking fighter joked his biggest immediate challenge would be to get Chloe to eat her vegetables instead of chips and milkshakes.
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Green will also embark upon his first Sydney to Hobart yacht race later this month.
