As he diligently prepares for his Showtime televised bout against Tarvis Simms this coming Saturday night, Allan ‘Sweetness’ Green is a thoughtful man. During training camps Green tucks himself away in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and grinds diligently towards the task at hand, with much free time left for visualizing and dreaming. The Super Middleweight contender sports a 28-1 record with 20 knockouts and despite a career that has been unfulfilling up to this point in many ways there are those that feel Green has a great chance at being the sultan of the division.
Originally hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he still resides, Green can get a little stir crazy when training in Florida and his mind wanders from day to day about a myriad of topics. Green is a talkative and opinionated individual and he has plenty to say about his family, his pursuit of greatness, and of course, boxing. When asked his thoughts towards the November 14th showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, however, Green is slightly perplexed.
“I don’t know what to think of that fight,” Green says searching for an answer. “It’s a hard one to figure out. I’m leaning slightly towards Pacquiao but I can’t say for sure. There are so many variables in that one. Who knows what could happen.”
When pressed for his thoughts on Pacquiao and what he thinks of the multi-division champion, Green is far from shy. While the obvious respect from one fighter to another exists, Green would still like to see a bit more.
“He’s a very good fighter,” Green says straight to the point. “I actually consider myself a Manny Pacquiao fan but over his career there are just certain fighters I wish he could have fought. I can’t take too much away from him because he’s done a lot and he is a damn good fighter though. I just want to see a little bit more.”
When asked for additional thoughts on Pacquiao, Green continues to open up. With the subject matter turning towards any weaknesses he may see in the Filipino icon, Green offers up his own two cents.
“I do feel that his defense is suspect,” Green says of Pacquiao. “He can get a little reckless and he tends to leave himself open at times. There are certain types of guys who are able to capitalize on that when they fight him but most of the time he gets by because he has so much determination and energy.”
Green was then asked why he feels Pacquiao has been so successful, especially as of late in his career. In responding to the question Green points out that Pacquiao’s unorthodox style is only part of the answer.
“He’s very strong and he’s very fast,” Green says pointing out the obvious. “I think he relies on his athletic ability and his talent a lot more so than his boxing skills. There are times when I watch him and wonder if he has learned how to box the right way. He’s shown flaws and the way he seems to get by and succeed is by fighting at a high energy level.”
The topic then turned to Cotto and what the reigning WBO Welterweight champion brings to the table. While often critical of fellow fighters, Green was quick to point out his fondness of the Caguas native.
“I’ve always had my eye on Miguel Cotto,” Green claims. “Ever since he got out of the Olympics I have been watching him closely. He’s a very good fighter and he could bring some trouble to the table for Pacquiao.”
As of late not much of the aforementioned trouble has come Pacquiao’s way inside of the ropes. His most recent wins against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton were the thing of legends and he dominated each man in a way that had never been done before. But in Cotto we have a completely different fighter who will pose a much more serious threat, at least in eyes of the WBC’s #6 ranked Super Middleweight.
“Cotto is very strong for one,” Green points out. “He is much stronger than Oscar De La Hoya was when he fought Manny Pacquiao and probably ever was. And he has much better boxing skills than Ricky Hatton does. He’s not going to rush in recklessly. He’s much more calculated and he is going to be fighting as if his life was on the line because he has a lot of pride.”
While strength and pride are both glaring in Cotto, there are some who feels that the Puerto Rican may actually have seen his best days, even at only 28 years of age. The root of that consensus stems from Cotto’s brutal knockout loss to Antonio Margarito last July in which he suffered a tremendous amount of punishment over the second half of the fight. Green was watching that bout closely and agreess that Miguel doesn’t seem quite the same ever since.
“I don’t think he’s the same fighter since that fight.” Green says thoughtfully. “When guys suffer a loss like they often just never recover and it’s usually a mental thing. For some guys it’s physical but I think for Cotto it’s mental. After that fight I don’t think he has had the same confidence in himself. He seems a little gun-shy and because of that he hasn’t been fighting the same way.”
It’s obvious in talking to Green that he is looking at as many angles as possible when sizing up Pacquiao-Cotto encounter. Each man brings elements to the table that are completely different and at the end of the day Green is just like anyone else as he will be watching with an open mind to see how everything unfolds.
“I think both pose threats to the other,” Green states. “Cotto is the more physical fighter and Pacquiao would be better off not getting caught up in physical type of fight. And I don’t think Cotto’s speed is what it used to be so I could see that hindering him against Pacquiao. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Pacquiao caught him with something big early. Really I don’t know how that fight is going to play out. You really never know until it goes down.”
