Darchinyan, Ndou, Tszyu, Fenech Talk Green vs. Briggs

By Mark Vester

Some of biggest names in Australian boxing shook their heads at Wednesday's farce of a fight between IBO cruiserweight champion Danny Green and challenger Paul Briggs. The Perth bout ended in 29-seconds of the first round when Green threw what appeared to be a glancing jab, at best, to the upper part of Briggs' head. Briggs stumbled for a few steps and then went down for the full count.

A full investigation has been ordered to ensure the fight wasn't fixed. Most observers believe Briggs took a dive and speculation was fueled further by the high volume of last minute wagers being placed for a first round KO win by Green. 

Several Australian boxing personalities spoke with AAP about the outcome. All of them, with the exception of Kostya Tszyu, believe Australian boxing will take a deep dive because of the Green-Briggs fiasco.

'That's just how the world is going to look at us now, boxing in Australia is dying slowly,' said IBO welterweight champion Lovemore Ndou .

'I don't think it will recover, because I think it was already down on its knees,' said triple world champion Jeff Fenech, who trained Briggs at one point . '[It was a] kick in the arse for our sport'

'It was absolutely disgraceful, boxing needed that like a boil on our backside,' said the old trainer of Briggs and Fenech, Johnny Lewis . 'After last night I'm really concerned. I think credibility, that's the one thing we're lacking in the fight game here in Australia and have been for the last decade or so.'

'I'm a pay-per-view fighter, if people aren't going to like our fights and they are disappointed they are not going to buy any more, so they are not going to be following boxing, they are not going to support it,' said multi-division champion Vic Darchinyan .

'Boxing is still going to be the number one contact sport,' Kostya Tszyu said . 'The excitement during boxing fights is just impossible to compare.'