This week, a shock came over the boxing world at the sanction of ex-light heavyweight contender Allan Green against cruiserweight Ryan Rozicki.
Green, 43, is the same fighter who entered the Super Six World Boxing Classic in 2010, losing via unanimous decision to Andre Ward.
Light heavyweight contender
Boasting a 29-1 record at the time, the 31-year-old Green was seen as a solid contender. His solitary loss had come against Edison Miranda three years previously.
“Ghost Dog” even got a second chance in the tournament, eventually won by Ward. However, he lost via stoppage to Glen Johnson. Over the next three years, his form was indifferent, and he looked like a shot boxer at 34.
Retiring for five years, Green returned in 2018, something that is never a good sign for any athlete. It seldom works out for the best.
Competing three times since January 2018, Green has beaten two no-hopers and lost via early knockout to Ahmed Elbiali at 175 pounds.
The American boxer weighed nine pounds overweight the last time he tried to make light heavyweight in December. This is obviously why he’s now accepted a fight at cruiserweight.
Ryan Rozicki vs Allan Green
Rozicki began his career as a fully-fledged 200-pounder and briefly flirted with losing weight in 2019. For all purposes, Rozicki is a cruiserweight wrecking machine with 14 knockouts from 15 wins.
Nicknamed “The Bruiser,” the Canadian’s only reverse came against Oscar Rivas. The current WBC bridgerweight champion out-weighed Rozicki by almost twenty pounds at the time of their bout.
Therefore, pitching Green in with Rozicki when he’s never made fought at the limit and holds no significant win since beating Renan St Juste a decade ago is nonsense.
It’s dangerous and should not be sanctioned by any means. Green will be lucky to get out of the ring without damage and certainly won’t be competitive.
If the fight goes longer than two rounds, it will be Rozicki’s decision only.
Nonetheless, the fight is on, as confirmed by Three Lions Promotions this week.
“New opponent, same goal. Due to visa complications, Mohammed Bekdash will be replaced by former world title challenger Allan Green (34-6, 23KO) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, for the December 2nd clash in Sydney, NS.
Super Six World Boxing Classic
“Green appeared in the Super Six boxing tournament, facing some of the best boxers on the planet. One was Andre Ward, who fought for the WBA world title.
“Green has fought on all major television networks such as ESPN, Showtime, and HBO. He received the “Ring Magazine” Knock out of the year when he KO’d Jaidon “The Don” Codrington in one round.
“Green will be looking to use this fight to take over Rozicki’s rating in the WBC, ultimately putting him in contention for another World title shot.”
Note that all those achievements listed occurred twelve years ago, the KO of the Year being 2005. Anyone with any knowledge of boxing knows this is a huge mismatch and should be stopped before the first bell goes in anger.
Promoter Lou DiBella could only say “What?” to the news. While one commenter on social media put, “Allan Green is in danger!”
With all the controversy surrounding the sport, the last thing we needed was Ryan Rozicki vs Allan Green.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
WBN Editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram, and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
