Mundine, Alvarez hunting the big fish

Anthony Mundine ( 42-4-0) and Rigoberto Alvarez (27-3-0) meet in Newcastle on Wednesday night, both looking to secure themselves a world title shot.

The man in their sights is American, Austin Trout, who defeated Alvarez for the interim WBA Junior Middleweight Title back in February of this year.

As it happens, Rigoberto Alvarez had agreed to travel to Australia to defend his title against Mundine at the same time; however a knockout loss for Mundine at the hands of fellow Australian and Contender Australia winner, Garth Wood dashed those plans. The fight with Trout was arranged in its place and the rest as they say is history.

Mundine had been in talks with the Trout camp to have the American defend his title in Australia; however it’s reported that talks broke down when both camps could not agree on a contract, with a dispute set to have been over the amount of options that the Trout camp would hold over Mundine for future fights.

Mundine saw it as Trout backing out of a fight, and will now finally meet Alvarez, with the winner becoming the number one contender and mandatory challenger for Trout’s title.

This is no easy assignment for Mundine, and I expect him to struggle given I have been unimpressed with his last few performances. Recently he has suffered a knockout loss to Garth Wood, followed by a scratchy and by no means convincing display in the rematch, despite winning. His last fight was against Xavier Toliver ( 23-6-0), and although more a keep busy fight, he still needed seven rounds to get past a clearly outmatched opponent.

Mundine has always promised the world, and for the last two years he has been spruiking a move to America and a desire to take on the best. The move to fight Alvarez is a giant leap in the right direction, and Mundine has highlighted a clear path he wishes to follow.

A win over Alvarez will see him fight Trout for the interim title, which will make him the first man to win three world titles in descending weight divisions. From there he wants to fight the current WBA Junior Middleweight Super Champion, Miguel Cotto.

Mundine said recently in an interview that he has offered Cotto $2 Million to fight in Australia, which Cotto reportedly declined. He has also hinted at a move to lure Shane Mosley, and even the brother of his opponent on Wednesday night, WBC Junior Middleweight Champion, Saul Alvarez.

But even the best laid plans in boxing often come unstuck.

Miguel Cotto fights Antonio Margarito on December 12^th at Madison Square Garden, and is no certainty to walk away with the belt.

But the biggest thing that will throw Mundine’s plans into chaos, is standing in the opposite corner come Wednesday night.

Rigoberto Alvarez is no walkover. He is a crafty southpaw, who is going to be tough to put away. Alvarez has heavy hands and the knockout power to put Mundine away.

All but one of his thirty fights have taken place in Mexico, with his only overseas fight taking place in South Africa, which ended in defeat to William Gare in their WBF Super Middleweight Title fight.

Mundine has shown signs that he no longer has the ability to get outside like he used to, and his recent fights have seen him tagged on numerous occasions, and of course knocked out by Garth Wood.

The jury is still out on whether or not Mundine is comfortable with the Junior Middleweight division. Despite “campaigning” in the division for the last eighteen months, he fought in the Middleweight division in his fights with Wood, and even when fighting at Junior Middleweight, we have seen him decide to fight at catchweight rather than the true mark.

Mundine comes in with a disrupted preparation which saw the fight postponed for a number of weeks, after Mundine suffered a deep cut over his right eye in sparring. The cut is still clearly visible, which raises questions over the effect it has had on Mundines preparation, as well as what effect it may have on Mundine in the fight itself.

Mundine has said the Garth Wood defeat was a blessing in disguise. He says it made him reassess his training and stop taking shortcuts, and has made him a better fighter.
Others feel Mundine’s boxing ability is in a state of decline and that there are signs that father time is having an effect.

Both men are fighting for a shot at redemption, and despite being the former Champion, Alvarez will go into the fight as the underdog, but for Mundine, all the pressure is on his shoulders. There is no room for empty promises or big fights that fail to materialise.

It’s either career resurrection or the end of an era.

Why the Wallabies will win it all in 2015

This is a message for every Australian crying into their Weetbix this morning. Make sure you keep a record of every single New-Zealander who has a crack at you in the next few weeks.

What’s the Reason?

The Wallabies will win the World Cup in 2015.

Now I know we have not even begun a post mortem of our 2011 campaign, but for those who want to stick the boot in I offer a glimmer of hope.

There is no denying that the All Blacks were faster, stronger, tougher and an all round better Rugby side. Even without the likes of Daniel Carter, they were clearly too good for us.

Sure we may have taken out the Tri-Nations title, but if anyone can remember back to the first Bledisloe earlier this year in New Zealand, it made pretty similar viewing to the World Cup semi final.

The Wallabies had key players not performing on the big stage, and an overall squad of players lacking composure at key times in the match. Whether it was drop balls or the wrong option, the All Blacks were a much slicker unit, with much more experience, who remained calm and composed under a mountain of expectation in New Zealand.

But as promising as the 2011 World Cup campaign may have looked for the Wallabies, our chances in 2015 look even better.

Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor, David Pocock, Will Genia, Rob Horne, Pat McCabe, Rob Simmons, Anthony Faingaa, Scott Higginbotham, Saia Faingaa and Sekope Kepu are all currently either 25 years of age or under, meaning the Wallabies already have an established core of players that will be available for the next World Cup, with some such as James O’Connor still young enough to go beyond that.

Another four years of Super 15 and Test Rugby, will ensure each player is not just more experienced, but will carry the lesson of the 2011 campaign with them.

Someone who has taken a battering for his form all tournament is Quade Cooper. Now there is no denying that Quade had a disappointing campaign, and after such a stellar Super 15 campaign, expectations were higher.

But I feel the Wallabies place too much pressure on Quade Cooper, and it is he who we look to all the time to produce that bit of magic to get us out of trouble. When he tries it and it fails, we chastise him, yet it seems he is the only one providing any real creativity or attacking intent.

We need to remember to, that he has only played 33 tests and has only been a Wallaby for three years, of which much time was spent coming off the bench or at Inside Centre, as deputy for Matt Giteau.

After a disappointing first half in the World Cup Semi Final, I felt Quade Cooper really came into it in the second half, and it showed his character, to fight back the way he did.

The Wallabies coaching staff should not make any knee jerk reactions in regards to who wears the Number 10 for the Wallabies. Quade Cooper is still our best option, and we should continue the faith in him on the road to 2015.

But Quade needs some support, and it must come in the shape of James O’Connor. I personally feel O’Connor is wasted on the wing, as he doesn’t see enough ball, and when he does he has little room to move. I would move him to Inside Centre, and bring him closer to the action. He is a great ball runner, who can run a good line and can be really damaging with the ball in hand. He can also provide some support to Cooper in the playmaking duties, given O’Connor has played at Fly Half for the Force for the last few seasons, and may even be handed the Number 10 for the Rebels next season.

The reason O’Connor did not play Inside Centre in the World Cup, was the fear of a mismatch, when coming up against the likes of giant centres Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. Some protection would have to be given to O’Connor and I feel the right man for the job would have to be, Pat McCabe.

Although playing at Inside Centre, I think McCabe would be better suited in the number 13. He is still quite inexperienced at Test level, and it should be remembered that he played a lot of the season at Fullback for the Brumbies in Super 15, so he is still learning how to be a Centre. He has shown so much already, imagine what he could be capable of in four years time.

Through in Will Genia, David Pocock and Kurtley Beale, plus any other finds over the next four years and the Wallabies looked incredibly well placed.

South Africa, England, France and others all relied on much older and more experienced players in the World Cup this year than the Wallabies, and they all must go through a period of renew.

The gap between the Wallabies and the All Blacks might favour the All Blacks now, but I’m confident with time, that will change. Many of the All Black players are set to call time on their careers in the near future, and a World Cup win may even push some into retirement sooner than they expected.

In saying that, for those that continue on and who are pushing into the latter stages of their careers, it is hard to put a broom through a World Cup winning side.

In 1995, the country was stunned when the Wallabies crashed out of the World Cup with an underwhelming performance against England in the Quarter Finals.

Who would have thought amid the doom and gloom surrounding our exit, that four years later we would lift the trophy in 1999.

Five minutes of action, was all that stopped the Wallabies from exiting last week at the exact same stage they did in 1995.

Who’s to say we can’t win it all in 2015, and when we do, remember those who wrote them off in 2011.



For Floyd "Money" Mayweather, being mean = green



So another Floyd Mayweather fight has come and gone and yet again Floyd Mayweather emerges as public enemy number one, not to mention the top trending topic on twitter.

Yet again he is the name on everyone’s lips.

Unfortunately for Mayweather, not a lot of it is complementary.

The internet was awash yesterday with people calling Mayweather “unprofessional”, “unsportsmanlike”, and universally a “dirty” fighter.

But for all these people commenting, I wonder how many of these people actually watched the fight, and not just passed judgement from a thirty second clip they saw on the news.

If they had of watched the fight they would have seen Mayweather dissect Victor Ortiz for four rounds, despite Mayweather having spent the last two years away from the ring.

It was a victory so emphatic, many were left scratching their heads wondering if Ortiz had even landed a punch, and whilst doubts remained over Ortiz’s accuracy with his fists, there was no doubt that Victor Ortiz connected with his head.

I said on radio before the fight that I had concerns over Ortiz’s mental toughness, given Ortiz quit mid fight against Marcos Maidana despite having knocked the Argentine down three times.

Concerns were raised again pre fight when it emerged Ortiz had asked for a day off from training, a week out from the fight, so he could go fishing.

This lack of mental toughness came out again yesterday for all to see. Despite having Mayweather trapped against the ropes, Ortiz was unable to land a blow. Try as he might, Ortiz was swinging, yet Mayweather was dodging, weaving and laughing.

A mixture of frustration and anger towards Mayweather’s arrogance came to the fore and Ortiz launched himself headfirst into Mayweather’s chin.

It was a blatant head butt, and Ortiz didn’t even try to disguise it. If he did, rule out a career in Hollywood for when he decides to hang up the gloves.

Head butts happen quite often in boxing, particularly when a Southpaw like Ortiz is in there with an Orthodox fighter like Mayweather, or when fighters are fighting out of a clinch. These types of head butts are strictly accidental.

What Ortiz did was petulant and violent.

He apologised straight away, and had a point deducted....so all should be forgiven right?

If you were out on the town and someone came up and head butted you, only to say sorry, do you immediately accept their apology despite the blood pouring from your messed up face?

Or do you do exactly the same thing Floyd did?

The only reason the way the fight finished is controversial is because Floyd Mayweather was involved.

I’m sure if Manny Pacquiao had done a similar thing, we wouldn’t even be talking about it. It would have been seen as an accepted response to the head butt, as most boxing people have accepted Floyd’s actions as.

Floyd Mayweather didn’t break any rules. There has been talk that referee Joe Cortez should have penalised Floyd for punching when called to break. But Joe Cortez never called a break, as the fighters were never in a clinch, so all is fair in love and war. Victor Ortiz is guilty of breaking the first rule of boxing, “protect yourself at all times”.

There is an old saying that “controversy creates cash”, and it’s the very reason that Mayweather is the most watched man in Boxing history.

So whilst the world keeps hating, Floyd Mayweather will be sitting in his Las Vegas Mansion counting the millions, unperturbed by the fact several million have joined the campaign trail to see the fighter receive his just deserts.

The funny thing is that these millions of fans wanting to see Mayweather fall, they will all buy his next pay per view.

So as Floyd Mayweather adds another name to his glistening record of 42 and 0, whether he intended to or not he’s added another zero to his next pay packet and at the end of the day for Floyd “Money” Mayweather, that’s all that matters.



Why Harry Kewell & Lucas Neill wont make the plane to Brazil 2014

There is no question that football fans in Australia are passionate, and I am expecting this article to insight nothing less in the football fans of this country.

But whether they like it or not, mark my words, Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill will not be on the plane to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Harry Kewell is an easy one. He limped his way to the 2006 World Cup, and crawled on his hands and knees to last year’s tournament in South Africa. He has done a tremendous job to fight back from adversity, and showed his class beyond measure at this year’s Asian Cup, but as a betting man I cannot see Kewell’s body holding up for another three years until Brazil 2014.

Much has been made of his return to the A-League this week, which is tremendous news for the game in this country, but to be fair he wasn’t exactly swimming in options. Outside of clubs in the A-League, the only other clubs bidding for his services were from the Middle East, which is the destination of Lucas Neill, and is more of a retirement home where players go to cash in, in the final years of their career.

For an example of this look no further than Fabio Cannavaro, who joined the league after the 2010 World Cup, aged 38. George Weah, was another who finished his career at Neill’s current club, Al Jazira, aged 36.

It’s not exactly a high quality league where Neill will encounter some of the top names in world football.

The biggest issue though is age. Lucas Neill will be 36 come the 2014 World Cup, Harry Kewell will be 35. The Socceroos had one of the oldest squads at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and it is in need of some much needed renewal ahead of the next campaign.

To be honest, I feel Socceroos boss, Holger Osieck has handled this well, blooding a fresh crop of young talent and trying plenty of new faces, who unlike his predecessor Pim Verbeek, Osieck has actually backed their talent and thrown them into pressure situations and reaped the rewards. The emergence of Matt McKay and strong impressions of the likes of Robbie Kruse are an example.

I was a bit concerned though to learn this week that Mark Bresciano and Vince Grella had been linked to Socceroo returns. This is not the direction the Socceroos need to go.

I see the likes of Robbie Kruse, Matthew Leckie, Tommy Oar, Nikita Rukavysta, Brent McGrath, Dylan Tombides and James Trosi as preferred options to Kewell in the next couple of years.

Whilst for Neill, it is time for Matthew Spiranovic, Mark Milligan, Rhys Williams and Luke De Vere to be given a chance.  You could even include the likes of Matt Jurman in the mix, who has shown some promise, and who I expect to improve now he is under a manager who has faith in him at the Brisbane Roar.

I would be more inclined to take Sasa Ognenovski , who is an ageing defender himself, than Neill, given Ognenovski’s superior physical presence.

Lucas Neill has been in a steady state of decline for a couple of years now. He is often caught out of position and found wanting for pace, and you will get no greater evidence of that  then his performance against Germany, in the 4-0 drubbing in South Africa.

Sure everyone can have an off night, but Neill’s form continued with some disappointing performances earlier this year. His performance against Poland in a friendly will make good viewing for anyone that doesn’t agree with my view.

Lucas Neill is a defender who built a career in the English Premier League, in which football is played at high intensity and is of a higher physical nature than other more “technical” leagues around the world. But as his pace has lessened, he has become more and more exposed and a potential liability.

For all players that are getting on in years there comes a fork in the road where they must re-invent themselves.

The best example of this is Ryan Giggs, who for so long was known for his blistering speed down the wings, and constantly gave the opposition nightmares when running at defenders.  Giggs was in fact a player; Harry Kewell was compared to in his glory days at Leeds United.

As Giggs got older, the pace was no longer there and he was forced to re-invent himself. Giggs transformed himself into a more central player, who is now known more for his quality distribution than for his silky runs at opposition defenders. Credit must go to Giggs for seeing the light and making the transformation, doing so has prolonged his career. The fact that Giggs is still a feature now in a championship winning Manchester United side is testament to that.

But I cannot see how Harry Kewell can do something similar to Giggs. He is not known for his ability to link up with players, and has only ever played in a wide role or in leading the line.

A former teammate of Lucas Neill, Phil Neville, is another like Giggs who reinvented himself and prolonged his career. At United, Neville was somewhat of a much maligned defender who could cover a variety of positions. Sensing, his pace dwindling and options becoming limited at United, Neville sought a transfer to Everton and a new lease of life for his career.

Neville transformed himself into a bustling holding midfielder, known for his great energy and leadership, and someone who has become a solid distributor up the pitch and who can also chip in for a goal or two.

The problem for Neill though is that I cannot see a way that he can reinvent his game. His distribution is a weak point of his game, and Australia has some depth in the holding midfield role with the likes of  Mile Jedinak, Jason Culina and Carl Valeri.

Lucas Neill and Harry Kewell have been great servants to the game of football in this country, and much of the success that the Socceroos have achieved in recent years is due to those two men.

But sentiment and compassion have no place in professional sport and sometimes hard decisions need to be made. Holger Osieck has an important balancing act in ushering in the next generation of Socceroos whilst ensuring Australia’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup.

Experience is an important factor in that, and is vital to any squad, but the Socceroos will be looking to the likes of Tim Cahill and possibly even Mark Schwarzer for that come time for Brazil.

A lot can happen in three years and nothing in football is guaranteed.

But in my eyes the only way, Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill will be in Brazil in 2014, is behind a microphone or leading a tour group.

Brian Ebersole talks UFC 133

Adam Santarossa talks to Brian Ebersole ahead of his fight at UFC 133 this weekend-

Brian how has preparation been? You’ve been moved up to the main card, how are things looking ahead of UFC 133 this weekend?

Yes I’m pretty happy about that, I mean it makes my managers job easier attracting some sponsorship, but in the end its still 15 minutes in the cage, it doesn’t matter where I am.

You’re taking on Denis Hallman, what do you know about him and what are you preparing for?

He has had about 80 fights, he is a really good grappler and wrestler, and he doesn’t really like to get hit.

Looking at his record he has had 50 wins, 13 losses, he has had some impressive victories, including most recently over Karo Parisyan. What is your game plan going into this fight?

I just need to upset his game plan. I know he will want to grapple, but I don’t know how he wants to go about it. I have to frustrate him, and hit him in the mouth, every now and then, and keep him on the back foot

Now, you’re an American, but you moved to Australia a number of years ago, and you have been pretty active on the Australian scene and you have been involved with coaching and training in Australia. From your perspective, what changes have happened in the Australian scene now the sport is growing so rapidly?

I think the big difference now is that gyms are starting to take their training more serious, so that what is going to raise the level. Promotions can offer all sorts of different structures, tournaments, big fights and titles, but that’s not really what’s most important. It’s about the training. So, in the gyms as kids get better and better, you’re going to see better people fight, and it doesn’t really matter on what show. Hopefully the promotion thing will start to take off, were you’re going to entice kids to compete in a more strategic way, instead of going out there just to do it. We need kids to look at it as a way out, and plan their careers a little bit by saying “hey in three years, I want to be making money doing this” or “I want this to be my job” or using it to get to the UFC.

A lot of people you talk to on the Australian MMA scene, they can’t wait to get to the States. You have based yourself in Australia. Is it detrimental to a young career being in Australia?

The kids saying they can’t wait to get to the States are those not taking the best advantages of the resources they have in Australia anyway. So with that attitude what’s the point of going over to America and wasting all your money?

I guess my situation is a little different. It wasn’t until I got to Australia that I could really train 2-3 times per day. In Melbourne I have really good training facilities and training partners, and in the States you have so many guys, but you can only train with one guy at a time on the mat. But as long as I’m getting what I need over here in Australia, then I’m quite happy. I have a couple of black belts that have stepped up and given me some of their time and I have a great striking coach so I’m getting some really great work in here in Melbourne.

The biggest thing you’re known for is the arrow you shave in your chest hair, letting your opponents know where your chin is. How did this come about?

I fought a kick boxer, who was coming from overseas, and I watched him wrestle in a jiu-jitsu tournament on YouTube and he didn’t look very comfortable, so before the fight I shaved an arrow and told him he had to hit me in the chin to beat me. It kind of stayed from there and I have done it in most of my fights since.

You’re known now, for doing these crazy things. Do you have anything else up your sleeve?

I have a fan contest at middleeasy.com, so my next masterpiece on the chest hair is going to be determined by the fans, and I am a bit nervous for that because the website is handling all entries so I have no idea exactly what ideas are coming in and I think they get the final say as well.

Finally how do you see this fight going, and what are your future plans in the UFC?

I just hope to keep getting easy fights, and then renegotiate my contract. That’s my plan.



It aint easy being Green- What's next for the Green Machine

A wise man once told me that the best time to watch any fighter is when he is hungry.

When he is struggling to pay the bills, when he is fighting for respect, when he is fighting to be noticed and step away from the other “pretenders” and before the bright lights and dollar signs become his lifestyle.

Danny Green was once this very man, and it is what has made him a millionaire.

A man who wore his heart on his sleeve, who took on all comers and left everything in the ring. These traits not only won him a legion of fans, but also took him to an interim Super Middleweight World Title, along with the WBA Light-Heavyweight title.

Talk in the past 24 hours following his loss in social media, and around the water cooler, has seen this legion of fans turn on their man, calling him washed up, a sham and calling for him to retire.

Fans can be fickle and many have lined up to stick in the boot.

But it’s something I won’t do.

I wrote in my preview of the Green-Tarver fight that it is dangerous to question a fighter’s heart, given my view that Tarver no longer had what it took, and that only thing motivating him was the pay cheque.

So I won’t question Danny’s heart now.

Green may not want to see Tarver anytime soon, but he is the man Green must turn to in order to see what is possible against all the odds.

A man who at 42 years old, and with one fight in eighteen months, who had lost two out of his last three, had no chance.

Before last night, Tarver was wearing the same descriptions being attributed this week to Green.

Too Old. Too Slow. Washed up.

Green should also pickup a copy of the film that made Tarver a movie star, Rocky Balboa and listen to the advice given by its star, Sylvester Stallone.

“Life will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. It isn’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.

The making of a man, is his ability to take a fall, and rise again.

The loss to Antonio Tarver could well be the resurrection of Danny Green.

Danny’s long-time adversary, Anthony Mundine experienced a similar thing when he was knocked out by Contender Australia winner, Garth Wood.

Mundine is adamant it is the loss he had to have.

The wakeup call that was surely needed and what he says will make him a better fighter in the end.

Mundine had begun to coast in fights, struggling to get up for fights against under strength opponents and take shortcuts in training.

It’s been a talking point for some time that Green has been doing the same. Not so much taking shortcuts in training, as Green continues to train like an animal.

However, since his comeback from “retirement” he has fought a variety of opponents.

He has fought under strength fighters in Anthony Van Niekerk and Julio Cesar Dominguez. We cannot forget the much publicised victory over Roy Jones, who no one can deny was a shadow of his former self.

Green followed the Jones win with a fight against Manny Siaca, who had not fought for over a year and jumped three divisions to take on Green, given his previous fight was at Middleweight.

What followed was one of the biggest debacles in Australian boxing, with Green taking on former world champion contender, Paul Briggs, a man who hadn’t fought for three and a half years prior and who retired due to neurological issues, the same issues which saw the NSW boxing commission fail to sanction the fight.

What followed was a fight that went 28 seconds, and caused massive damage to the Green brand.

Fans deserted the Green machine like a sinking ship, not only annoyed at the fight and feeling ripped off, but also annoyed at Green’s handling of the matter.

Fans wanted answers, and Green was non committal. He claimed he had no knowledge of any of the allegations.

If this was true, Green must have been living under a massive rock, the size of which he was looking to hide under at the time given the fallout.

Green had become just like the man all his fans hoped he would beat, Anthony Mundine.

Fighting for Money, and not legacy.

But we must all be aware that fighters can have an off night.

In his previous fight before Tarver, Green had looked the best we had seen him for a long time. Against the previously undefeated BJ Flores, Green shocked the boxing community with his slick skills and execution, winning a wide points decision.

Having stepped in the ring myself (don’t ask!), fighting against the tide when the momentum of a fight is turning against you is the hardest task. It is almost impossible to stay composed when everything is going wrong.

The fight is happening so fast, the punches don’t stop; it’s like playing chess game whilst getting hit repeatedly in the face. You can’t call a timeout and step outside and work your opponent out.

It’s all done on the run, and whilst you struggle to work your opponent out, his lead gets bigger and the problem intensifies. You go back to your corner and your alone with your a million thoughts, you’re tired, you’re hurt, you’re body is screaming at you and you don’t process anything you’re trainer tells you.

Styles make fights, and sometimes it’s just not your night.

But memories are short and the queue of detractors is long.

The man in the street may think his time is up, but only one man has the answer to that very question, and only one man has the power to do anything about it.

Danny Green has had his pride, future earnings and world title aspirations taken away from him.

The good news though...

Danny Green is hungry again.

Write him off at your peril.



Hyder says Green wants to "punish" Tarver badly

Adam Santarossa talks to Angelo Hyder, trainer of Danny “The Green Machine” Green, ahead of tomorrow’s big IBO Cruiserweight World title fight with “The Magic Man” Antonio Tarver.

Angelo, we are hours away from the fight, how is Danny looking?

He is looking real good mate, he is ready to go.

Now last time you fought against BJ Flores, you pulled a real monkey out of the hat with your game plan, you really surprised Flores with your hit and move approach, opposed to the “come forward” style from Danny that we know. Can we expect something similar tomorrow night?

No I don’t think he will be ducking and weaving away too much tomorrow night mate.

There has been some criticism regarding this fight and there has been some real insults bandied around in the last few days. How personal has this fight become?

Yes mate, it’s pretty personal mate, he (Tarver) has thrown some pretty crazy stuff up, you know to try and unedge us, and if he has wanted to get Danny angry, he has, it’s worked and it’s my job to keep Danny under control. Danny really wants to punish him badly.

What are your thoughts on Tarver? How do you see the fight?

He is one hell of a fighter mate. You know Danny has got to be on his game, he doesn’t want to be getting hit clean by Tarver. He doesn’t want to let Tarver dictate terms in the ring. They know Danny’s style.they know. They know he is a tough nut and it’s going to be very interesting. It’s going to come down to the finer points, you know, are they as good as they say? Or are we as good as we say? So it’s a very interesting fight.

What about these mind games? Today here at the weigh in there was talk that Tarver would not make the Cruiserweight limit?

He (Tarver) hit it right on and it’s the first time Danny has been over 90kg himself, so he has done a lot of hard work and to his credit Tarver has been very professional, and I always knew he would come in on weight, and look as good as he does. I have been following him a little bit on YouTube, seeing all the hard work he has done. He is here for war, and Greeny is no different.

Let’s hope he hangs around and looks to stand and deliver like he said and it will become a stand-up fight and an exciting bout.

Any chance you might jump in there with Buddy McGirt? He has been levelling some insults at Team Green, regarding the hand wrap controversy?

(Laughs) No mate, Buddy McGirt is a good bloke; he knows what he is doing. I have been up against Buddy McGirt a few times, all around the world, I have done a lot of World Title fights in America, I have done them in Germany , I’ve done them in Indonesia, I’ve faced him before, let him have his say, but when that bell rings it’s up to the fighters. Myself and Greeny have a relationship, where I know he will do exactly what I say, and I don’t think they (Tarver-McGirt) have as good a relationship as Danny and I, and I don’t think many fighters in the world do.

So whatever Tarver comes up with, Greeny and I know we will come up with the answers.

There has been some question about Tarver, and how he will go with having only one fight in eighteen months. But there is also a question about Danny, given he had his appendix out only a few months back and this is his first fight since then?

Yes, well I was worried early. I didn’t want to fight Tarver if you can recall. But since now we have gone through all the sparring and the preparation, I can see Greeny is fine, and I am more than happy.

Danny is 39 years old, he has already retired before. Any chance this could be the last time we see him step in the ring?

Well, it could always be that mate, you just never know. But, No...He has got a bit more to do still I think.

Finally, what’s your prediction for tomorrow night?

If Danny catches him (Tarver), he will knock him out, that hasn’t changed from Roy Jones. It’s only a matter of when. The thing is, is Tarver good enough to make that “when” not happen, but if that “when” happens, it’s going to be over.

Angelo Hyder with his fighter, Danny "The Green Machine" Green