Allan Green: the critics can kiss my ass

Exclusive interview with boxing's man of the moment

05/11/2005

Allan Green: the critics can kiss my ass

By Raj Sharma

Less than twenty four hours after his sensational knockout of Jaidon Codrington, Boxingtalk caught up with Allan Green. He was about to take his children to the movies, but took a few minutes to address the fight, the criticisms of his behavior after the fight, and his future.

BT: First of all, congratulations on your win last night. Impressive performance, only 18 seconds. There was a lot of talk before the fight, you felt he disrespected you and it made you mad. What was going through your mind when that bell rang last night?

AG: Just like exactly what I said I was going to do. I wasn’t coming out there to box, I wasn’t coming out there to put on a show. I was going to put pressure on him and knock him out, and that’s what I did.

BT: After the fight, you were pretty pumped up in there. You and your team were celebrating…

AG: (interrupts)Yeah we were celebrating, I’m going to explain to you what happened. Before  the fight this guy [someone associated with the Codrington camp], keeps running up to my father telling my father I’m gonna get knocked out. Then he runs over to my family, where my grandmother and my mother are sitting, cursing and telling them that Allan Green’s gonna get knocked the f**k out. Then he comes over to me on the way to the ring, running in my face (and) telling me ‘you’re fittin to get knocked the f**k out’. Then after I get in there and knock the kid out, one of his buddies comes up in the ring (and) tries to grab one of the police officer’s guns to get at me. Nobody said anything about that. But they wanted to complain about a shout out that I gave to one of my sponsors? They don’t want me to have sponsors now? But this guy tried to grab a gun and get at me, and they disrespected my family, but I’m the bad guy? Why can’t it just be about Allan Green knocked out Jaidon Codrington, the guy who they said was gonna beat me. Why does it have to be about anything else? Don’t take away my credibility.

BT: I think what people were trying to say is that this young man was being carried out on a stretcher and you’re giving a shout out to your dealer. Some people were saying that showed a lack of class, how do you respond to that?

AG: You know what? They can all kiss my ass for the fact that before I said that, I said I hope the young man is alright. My sponsors pay my bills. I have to say what I have to say to them. They can’t make me out to be the bad guy. Before I said that, I said I hope the young man’s alright, I hope he comes out fine. This is the boxing game. When he signed the contract, and when his promoter signed the contract, he knew what he was getting himself into. I hope he’s okay, but now that I know he is I don’t feel sorry for him. Had it been me, they would have been talking all this noise, all this hoopla like they did on the Internet.

BT: Last night, you proved you’re for real. Have you talked to Tony Holden yet about what’s next for Allan Green?

AT: Oh yeah, I have talked to Tony. We’re trying to hopefully crack the top ten. Like I told you before, I wanted somebody in the top ten. I don’t want to fight with the kid, I wanted somebody better. And now because people (were) in this kid’s ear telling him this and that this kid may not have a career now. And I’m gonna tell you something, I’m not the one who’s supposed to feel sorry about that. We’re in the hurt business and you get hurt. And had it been me, I’d feel the same way.

BT: I’ll let you get back to celebrating; I know you trained hard for this fight. Is there anything else you’d like to say or anybody you’d like to thank?

AG: I said it once, and I’ll say it again. I don’t care where you’re from. I don’t care where you live or whatever. It’s all about the fighter. I’m sick and tired of New York and the East Coast boxers dissing fighters just because they’re from a certain place. I’ve just put Oklahoma on the map. I’ve just shut down New York, I shut down the number one prospect so I don’t want to hear anything else about New York fighters or New York prospects. The only thing I want to hear about for the next week or two weeks or month or whatever is Allan Green, cause Allan Green is the hot number right now.

BT: Anybody you’d like to thank? Family, promoters, sparring partners, anybody?

AG: I’d like to thank my sparring partners Teddy Mueller, Donnie McCrary, and Francisco Diaz. Also Sam Reese. Donnie McCrary and Sam Reese just won [bouts recently], and I want to congratulate them on that. They’re good friends of mine and sparring partners.

BT: Thank you for taking the time to speak to us today.

AG: Anytime.

 

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