By Cliff Rold (photo by Tom Casino/Showtime)

First there must be talent.  Before anyone asks if a fighter deserves a big opportunity, talent drives the conversation.  Then, when the opportunities come, they must be seized for greater opportunity to be demanded.

Oakland, California’s 26-year old WBA Super Middleweight titlist Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KO) has mastered the seizing of opportunity. 

In 2004, the then-amateur Middleweight Ward made the unselfish choice to move to Light Heavyweight to improve the strength and medal chances of the U.S. team.  It paid off.  Teammate Andre Dirrell left Athens with a Bronze Medal; Ward, following a quarterfinal upset of 2003 World Champion Evgeny Makarenko, went on to Gold at 178 lbs.        

Last year, again an underdog and with only twenty pro fights under his belts, Ward put a whooping on once unified titlist Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KO) to win his first professional title.  This weekend, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Ward will play the favorite against a man looking to prove he can own a moment in the same fashion.

30-year old Allan Green (29-1, 20 KO) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has hardly been shy about his belief that he’s been denied opportunities in recent years.  He has remained relevant because the talent is there.  It was evident in November 2005 when Green exploded on the scene with an 18 second destruction of the more touted Jaidon Codrington. 

It hasn’t been as easy since.

Green’s ups and downs include eleven wins, a loss to Edison Miranda in March 2007, major intestinal problems and ultimately surgery, and a change in management.  When the “Super Six” tournament was announced in 2009, Green was one of two notable names missing the cut along with IBF Super Middleweight beltholder Lucian Bute.

“I really couldn’t understand how I was left out,” stated Green in being interviewed prior to the initial start of his training, a camp that eventually played out in two parts when Ward claimed an injury which pushed their bout from late April to this Saturday.  “All in all I’m happy to be in the tournament.  I really can’t cry over spilled milk.  I talked about that time and time again, about being left out and as far as I’m concerned it’s in the past so it’s not even worth talking about anymore.”

Green’s exclusion came in favor of Ward, Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO), and former Middleweight Champion in Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KO).  Taylor came in with heavy name recognition and heavier baggage.  Stopped by Kelly Pavlik in 2007, and then Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KO) one fight prior to the conception of the tournament, speculation was heavy from the start that Taylor could be short for the field.  A 12th round knockout at the hands of Arthur Abraham created an opening for Green and dramatically changes the complexion of the American side of the brackets. 

Ward and Dirrell are slick, athletic boxers whose best chances for victory come in their ability to tally winning rounds.  Green’s best chances come by way of a left hook which can make scorecards irrelevant. 

“I change it a lot.  If you want to look at it, the European side, Mikkel Kessler is a puncher, Froch and Abraham (31-1, 25 KO) are punchers over there.  On the American side, I kind of even the playing field a little bit more.  But you get more than a puncher with me; you get a boxer-puncher.  So, it kind of makes things a lot more interesting.”   

The 6’2 Green enters at a numerical disadvantage.  The “Super Six” is not solely determined by wins and losses.  A points system awards three for a knockout win, two for a win by other means, and a point for a draw.  Through two rounds, everyone in the tournament is on the board; Green begins not having had a chance at first round points.

Assuming he would have begun in the same spot as Taylor, Green would have begun against the heavy handed Abraham.  It’s no guarantee Green would have entered the Ward contest with points after an Abraham start.  Green will at least have the freshness of not having taken the blows of arguably one of the most dangerous single shot punchers in boxing. 

Green though didn’t see not having faced Abraham as any sort of advantage.  “I don’t care.  I really don’t care.  Whoever it is, whoever is the best in the tournament, is who I want first.”  Given Abraham’s disqualification loss to Dirrell in round two, Ward has the strongest case as the best in the tournament for now and Green was practical about the reality of a structure which will force all of the combatants into tough fights in succession.  “Sooner or later, if I take care of my business, I’ll have to face them anyways.”

After a long wait for something like the Ward fight, and “Super Six” inclusion, Green might be expected to have some wariness about facing Ward in Ward’s hometown.  No visiting fighter has yet picked up a win in the tournament.  Green displayed no worry.  “I would probably much rather for the fight to be in Oakland.  I really don’t care…why would I be concerned?  We’re both from the U.S.  I’m from Oklahoma, he’s from Oakland, as long as we have a neutral referee and neutral judges, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Reminded of complaints from the Kessler camp following the Dane’s loss to Ward about rough tactics Ward was allowed to get away with, Green observed, “He was, he was, but at the same time certain things Kessler should have been able to nullify.  I understand his argument but certain things he should have been able to nullify boxing as long as he has.”

Prior to beginning training, Green expressed some concerns about facing Ward without neutral officials.  This week, veteran referee Raul Caiz Sr. was selected for Ward-Green and Green’s team expressed comfort with the decision.  Green’s advisor, Greg Leon, stated, “We’re confident that the commission appointed competent officials.  Allan initially requested a Nevada referee so, as his representative, I did everything in my power to make that part of the deal.  I understand that…California hasn’t allowed an out of state referee in a title fight in over four years so it’s not gonna’ be happening basically.  Allan’s not concerned about that as much as he is winning the fight.  He’s focused on the task at hand and he’s here to beat Andre Ward.”

Leon continued saying Green’s, “not even looking at it as a title fight.  It’s strange to say that but everybody who’s asking him, that’s been his response.  He’s just focused on Andre Ward and beating Andre Ward.  What comes with it comes with it.  He has tunnel vision for Andre Ward right now. 

Speaking separately with Green’s promoter, Lou DiBella, a pragmatic approach was taken on the Oakland question.  “If you knock the guy out it doesn’t matter.  I think that Ward has proven that he’s as good as he looked when he left the Olympics and he’s better than most pundits thought he would be.  He’s a tremendously skilled boxer but if he has an Achilles Heel it may be his chin.  The two biggest punchers in the world at 168 lbs. are Arthur Abraham and Allan Green.”

Green feels that he has the tools, beyond power, to nullify a tricky style from Ward which utilizes speed, smarts, and well timed tricks on the inside.  “There are certain things he may try, and I have something for that.  I have to play within the realm of the boxing rules but if I have to go outside them, just as he does, I know how to handle myself.”

One place where Green takes his lessons in dealing with the wide range of tactics a Ward can employ is in the greats of the past.  “I learn a lot from watching old tapes.  Most guys I know don’t watch a lot of old fights.  I watch a lot of old tapes.  I love Sugar Ray Robinson.  I love Ike Williams.  I love Sandy Saddler.  I love Roberto Duran.  I love Sugar Ray Leonard.” 

Green went further in citing Robinson and Leonard as his favorites.  “If there was a fight I could ask God to let me see it would be Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard in their prime.”  Perhaps as a possible undercard, Green mentioned wishing he could also have seen Duran and Aaron Pryor, predicting, “in their primes, Duran beats him.”

There will be skeptics this weekend, those who question whether Green’s rhetoric can meet the task at hand.  While Green has lost only once, that loss came in his highest profile fight to date.  Miranda was HBO-televised and, despite dropping the Colombian in round eight, it was Green fading and on the floor twice in the tenth and final round en route to a decision loss.  Miranda has gone 5-4 since with three stoppage losses and a points loss to Ward in 2009.

DiBella feels the loss is overly scrutinized.  “I think a lot of people discounted Allan’s quality based on the fight with Miranda.  Allan doesn’t talk about it a lot but he was nowhere near a hundred percent for that fight.  He had part of his intestine removed after the fight and, basically, his body was poisoned (from lengthy intestinal issues).  I think he’s very live and I think that he is a very dangerous guy.  Similar to how Abraham, if he’s losing a fight, is dangerous until the last second of the twelfth round, Allan is dangerous until the last second of the twelfth round.” 

Green made no excuses for the Miranda loss and doesn’t dwell on it regardless of circumstance.  “It’s an unforgiving game.  A lot of fans say, ‘well, Allan lost to Edison Miranda.’  What I don’t understand is they pinpoint me with that, but there’s a lot of guys who have losses.  One thing I like to point out is that I’m undefeated as a Super Middleweight (Miranda was a catchweight bout at 162).  I’ve never lost a fight at Super Middleweight.  I’ve always been dominant at Super Middleweight.  I lost that fight…on short notice, extremely ill, should not have been in the ring.”  Asked whether any health issues linger on, Green said no. 

Speaking about the impact of losses generally and whether single losses are overly emphasized, Green said, “In this era they are.  It’s bad, but it has a lot do with the business, the promoters, the networks.  That, to me, is what hurts a guy when a guy takes a loss.  When a guy takes a loss, if he’s not with the right promoter, or if his promoter is not in the buddy club, he may not get another shot for years.  He may never get a shot.  Certain guys can lose, lose again, and continue to keep getting shots.  You think how does this guy keep doing this and you may have another guy who is better than him, may have lost once, and you may not hear nothing.  In the old days it wasn’t like this, but it’s like this now.  To me, that’s what’s messing up boxing.”

The “Super Six” solves for some of that in its round robin preliminary format.  Green offered, “It gives the fans a chance to see fights they want to see.  The styles are so subjective, so different.  Fighter A might beat Fighter B, Fighter B might beat Fighter C, but Fighter C might beat Fighter A.”  The results so far have shown hints of that with Dirrell and Kessler both bouncing back from first round defeats to find the winner’s circle. 

Asked if he views Ward as a significant step up in competition, Green was measured.  “He’s a good athlete.  He’s not a huge step up but he is a step up.  The gap now between the guys in the top ten and the guys right under the top ten isn’t huge.  They’re pushing guys into title shots now so fast.  He’s not a huge step up but I think him fighting me is a huge step up for him also.  I fought numerous guys like (Ward) before in the amateurs and he’s not really a big puncher.  From a skillful boxing point of view, he’s good, he’s smart, he’s foxy, but I wouldn’t say he’s a huge step up.  I really don’t see him as a threat at all.” 

For Green, Ward is not the only big opportunity the “Super Six” presents.  Green is locked in, win or lose, for a fight in round three of the preliminaries with a Kessler fresh off a WBC belt win over Froch in April.  In other words, Green enters this weekend with a guarantee to fight for titles in both of his next two fights and the possibility of being a unified titlist before 2010 is out.

A loss to Ward could hurt his chances to advance to the semi-finals but it would not rule it out.  Only Abraham has more than two points right now; only Ward has a chance to have more than three points heading into round three.  DiBella observed, “If (Green) scores one knockout in those two fights, he’s gonna’ probably go into the final four.”  If he managed a 1-1 mark but defeated Kessler by decision, he could find the semi-finals out of reach and still be left with the consolation of exiting the tournament with a title anyways.

“Things broke his way and frankly the Kessler win was huge for Allan’s chances in the tournament.  If Allan goes 1-1 in his two fights with a knockout, he’s going to the final four.  If Allan knocks both guys out, he’ll go 2-0 and he’s number one even though he’s only fought twice.  His odds of making the final four went up precipitously with Kessler’s win over Carl.  So, he’s got a great opportunity here.”

That’s exactly what Allan Green has been waiting for.  What he does with it will begin to be decided in the ring on Saturday night.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com