"I'm going to hurt him badly!"
It figures to be a watershed moment in the career of undefeated Oklahoma super middleweight Allan “Sweetness” Green. The wisecracking 17-0 prospect has compiled his record against largely outgunned opposition since turning pro in 2002. On November 4th however, the talented Green will be facing fellow unbeaten Jaidon Codrington in an eight round bout on Showtime’s popular Shobox series. A victory will likely put either fighter on the fast track to title contention, while the loser may have to seriously regroup. Ask Green about the importance of the bout, and the fighter is dismissive of his fellow 2002 National Golden Gloves champion.
“Honestly, for me this is not a step up fight. I’ve fought guys better than him before” said Green, speaking from his hometown of Tulsa. “He brings very, very, slow hands. Very poor defense. He’s a C Class fighter, I’m gonna kill him”. Have a conversation with the likable Green these days, and it is doubtful that you can bring up Codrington’s name without the word “kill” being mentioned. The East Coast fighter appears to have perturbed Green with recent comments questioning the Oklahoman’s abilities.
“To me, he’s nobody. I’ve been seeing all these filth he’s been talking on the Internet”, Green said. “The thing I learned is that a coward screams the loudest when he’s at his most secure”. “Deep down in his heart, he knows he doesn’t’ belong in the ring with Allan Green”, said the fighter speaking in the third person. “When they told me about the fight, I said that’s a waste of my time. He’s 9-0, why would I want to fight him? Get me somebody better”. The boxer took the bout on the advice of his team despite his initial misgivings.
A product of gritty North Tulsa, Green was exposed to the sweet science by his father, a former boxer himself. A gifted athlete, Allan was the starting quarterback for his high school football team. Green elected to throw punches over the pigskin though, and wrapped up his amateur career in 2002 soon after winning the National Golden Gloves title at 178 pounds. The possibility of a berth on the 2004 Olympic team was not sufficient motivation for Green to stay in the unpaid ranks.
“I could have made the team, I didn’t want to wait around” he said, when asked about his decision to turn pro. “I was 22, and for my taste it was too old to be an amateur. I wanted to go ahead and turn pro and pursue my professional career”. Green started his pro career in November, 2002 with a first round TKO win over Robert Dykes in Oklahoma City. He hasn’t looked back since, and plans to step up to the next level if victorious next Friday.
“Hopefully, I’m looking to get in there with someone in the top ten”, he said when asked what’s next if he beats Codrington. “In the next year or so, I want to have a belt around my waist. I want to fight better fighters, eventually guys like Jeff Lacy, Kessler, Markus Beyer, the top guys in my division”. Green hopes to win titles at 168 and 175lbs before ending his career, and would like to retire at the age of 35. Like so many young fighters, he dreams of one day being considered an all time great.
First things first. Standing in Green’s way to title contention is the 9-0 Codrington, who has won all of his bouts by knockout. Never at a loss for words, Green had some words of advice for Codrington’s handlers.
“I want you to quote me on this. When I get him in the ring, I’m gonna really, really hurt him bad. So somebody who cares about him need to tell him to go down and stay down”, he said. “I will ruin his career. I will ruin him. They’ve made me angry for this fight. I’m not just going in there with aspirations on winning. I am going to kill him”.
May the best man win, and no one get hurt.
Note: An interesting fact about Allan is that he became a vegetarian at the age of seventeen. He did so because of health reasons, as opposed to animal rights activism. Former world champion Keith Holmes is another well known boxer who is a vegetarian.
Allan would like to thank everybody involved with Team Green-his trainer, promoter, family, and kids.
