Green survives early scare to TKO Gonzales in five
 By Anthony Cocks, Site Editor (September 30, 2004)
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Danny Green
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Interim WBC super middleweight champion Danny Green survived the first knockdown of his professional career to stop Argentinean journeyman Omar Gonzalez on cuts in the fifth round of their scheduled ten round contest at Panthers World of Entertainment in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday night.
After an evenly contest first round, the light-hitting Gonzalez caught the 31-year-old Australian with a right cross to the head with just over a minute remaining in round two. The Jeff Fenech trained fighter was more shocked than shaken and he was back on his feet almost immediately.
Green boxed cautiously for the remainder of the round. In the third he started to establish his jab and boxed smartly from the outside while Gonzalez continued to come forward in spurts.
By the fourth round Green was starting to impose his will on Gonzalez, but it was obviously that the six month layoff had affected his timing. Gonzalez, 29-6 (9), fought much of the round on the ropes, but Green struggled to find holes in his defence to land his vaunted power shots.
In the fifth round Green was continued to walk down his foe, and midway through the round he opened up a cut above Gonzalez's right eye. Referee Charlie Lucas consulted the ringside physician Dr Lou Lewis, who ruled the cut was too severe to continue and the bout was halted.
At the time of the stoppage Green was ahead by one and three points on two of the scorecards while the third card had it even.
"I'm obviously disappointed with my performance," Green, 19-1 (18), admitted after the fight. "I was flat."
Green, who has only fought twice in 2004 after averaging six fights a year since turning professional in 2001, showed plenty of signs of ring rust in his first bout in six month. The last time Green was seen in the ring was back in March when he administered a one-sided shellacking to New Zealander Sean Sullivan in Perth, a bout that saw Green admitted to hospital afterwards suffering from severe dehydration.
Next up for Green is a proposed defence of his interim title against unbeaten Dane Mikkel Kessler, with the victor set to face the winner of the Markus Beyer versus Cristian Sanavia rematch scheduled for October 9 for the WBC title proper.
Undercard results
The fight of the night belonged to rising super middleweight prospect Daniel 'Porky' Lovett, 7-1 (5), who impressed with a dominant performance against rugged Uruguayan Enrique Campos, 12-12 (8), before scoring a TKO in the twelfth round.
The Melbourne based 21-year-old out-boxed and out-punched his more experienced foe, backing him up for the first three rounds and launching a two-fisted assault to the 31-year-old's body and head.
Between rounds Lovett's trainer Jim Slatter reminded him that he needed to pace himself in case the fight when the distance and his charge responded admirably.
Lovett, who had previously never been beyond the eighth round, showed composure beyond his years, displaying a measured attack through the middle rounds that saw him open up on Campos at times, while boxing smartly when he needed to conserve energy.
In the sixth round Campos received an eight count after taking a knee to avoid a Lovett barrage, and in the seventh a big right cross rocked the Uruguayan just before the bell.
A headclash in the eighth resulted in a cut above Lovett's right eye, but the blood did nothing to dissuade him. Lovett continued to snap Campos's head back with his stiff jab and bang away at the Argentinean's body with contempt.
Campos had his best round in the tenth when he was able to pressure the tiring Lovett, who by this stage was fighting in spurts. In the eleventh Lovett didn't seem to have any pepper on his punches, but he boxed well to generally stay out of harms way while picking off Campos when he came forward.
Lovett found something extra in the twelfth round as he looked to close the show. After dropping Campos twice, referee Gary Dean decided he had seen enough and waved the fight off.
With the win Lovett retains his IBF Pan Pacific title.
In a ten round war of attrition Josh Clenshaw, 22-12 (13), had a harder than expected battle on his hands against tough Kiwi Tim Minnis, 2-5-1 (0).
Despite the judges awarding Clenshaw the victory by scores of 100-91 and 99-92 twice, the fight was a lot more competitive than the margins suggest.
Minnis stayed on Clenshaw's chest all night and refused to give the Roy Alexander trained fighter room to throw his punches, but the 27-year-old Sydneysider took control by the fourth round with his sharper, more accurate punches.
In a lightweight bout Ben Cruz, 10-0 (7), displayed his superior skill to score a near shutout victory over awkward Argentinean Ariel Burgos, 14-5 (3), over eight rounds. Burgos seemed to frustrate Cruz in the middle rounds with his dubious tactics which resulted in the visitor receiving two separate point deductions, but the Perth-based fighter showed his class by remaining composed throughout the fight. Official scores at the conclusion were 80-70 and 80-71 twice.
At super middleweight Adam Vella, 3-0 (2), won a close four round decision over Brad Ryan 1-2 (0).
In a heavyweight contest Roger Izonritei, 7-3 (7), produced a one-punch come from behind KO of Oscar Talemira, 0-3, in the fourth and final round of their contest after been on the canvas himself in the third.
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