After having fought some of the best in the business it was time for Allan Green to get some rest. After dealing with some injuries and medical issues he planned to sit out a year after losing to Blake Caparello in 2013, but that year-long hiatus quickly turned to five. In 2018 Green finally returned to the squared circle, getting his first victory in six years and he doesn't plan on hanging up the gloves anytime soon. While he's waiting for his next bout to materialize he took some time to talk with Big Time Boxing about the sport and his career.
Question: You're from Oklahoma, which isn't exactly a hotbed of boxing. When most people think Oklahoma they think football. So how is it you got started in boxing?
Answer: "You're right, its a hotbed for wrestling and football. Actually my father boxed and I used to go to the gym with him. With my father being a fighter I'd always go to the gym with him, I've been in the gym since I was a baby practically."
Q: The nickname 'Ghost Dog,' who gave it to you and what does it mean?
A: "One of my brothers gave me that name. Usually my nickname was 'Sweetness' but he gave me the nickname 'Ghost Dog' and it caught on. Certain people used it and sometimes they'd use it for my fights so I just went with it. I think it's from a movie, man I don't know, something like that."
Q: When you were growing up were you all about boxing or did you play any other sports?
A: "I played football in high school but it was always about boxing. Like I said I've been in the gym since I was one but I was the quarterback for my high school my freshman year. I also played basketball for my high school my freshman year. But it's just who I am, I didn't like the lack of dedication, of the personal dedication in team sports. Because if your dedication and drive isn't reciprocated it's like 'you guys aren't of the same accord' so I got away from team sports. I just couldn't stand losing because of another person because of a lack of drive or dedication or they weren't taking it seriously."
Q: What went into the decision to really dedicated your life to boxing?
A: "You know it's funny man, I just love it. It was always just the way it was, it was always what I wanted to do. There was never any particular time where I said 'Okay I'm going to go ahead and do this' I just always wanted to do it. I didn't choose boxing, boxing chose me.
Q: You've been in a lot of good fights against a lot of tough opponents. Is there one fight that stands out as the toughest of your career?
A: "Here's the thing, when I just had a few fights I fought Ola Afolabi and he's a good fighter. I beat him but his skill level was a lot more advanced than mine. I think I only had a few fights at that time. At the end of the day I know it's all relative but I felt like it was one of the toughest fights I ever had even though I won. It was just because of how advanced he was. Obviously I fought Andre Ward who was a better fighter than Afolabi but in the fight with Afolabi I was healthy, I was strong, I was really feeling it but I could really feel the difference in skills."
Q: The fight against Ola Afolabi was just the fourth fight of your professional career. Do you think going through a fight early in your career against a skilled opponent like that really helped you moving forward?
A: "Of course. It could make or break some guys but for me to be able to fight him and do as well as I did, it does a lot for your confidence. Now seeing that look you can move forward and feel confident seeing other looks. It just did a lot for me.
Q: You've faced a lot of good fighters during your career. Is there one who stands out as having the best chin and one who stands out as being the hardest puncher?
A: "A guy by the name of Tyrone Jackson who I fought in one of my first few fights. He had the best chin. I actually hurt my hand on his head. I know I fought guys who hit harder than this guy, but this guy hit me the hardest and it actually hurt and that was Jerson Ravelo. He hit me with a right hand and it was crazy. It felt like someone had a brick on the end of a pool stick and just jammed it right in my face."
Q: Boxing fans love to debate fantasy fights. If you could challenge any fighter, active or retired, who would it be?
A: "If I could? Man, that's a good question. Maybe Marvin Hagler at a catchweight. I grew up watching him and I was a fan but I loved Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns and those are guys that I actually know and I'm cool with, and Roberto Duran too so I didn't want to say them. I love them all but I don't know Marvin like I know the other guys."
Q: Another thing that can get boxing fans into a spirited debate is discussing who the greatest fighter of all-time is. Who do you consider to be the best to ever lace up a pair of gloves?
A: "Look, this argument will go on for a long time, but hands down, 'Sugar' Ray Robinson is the greatest fighter that's ever lived. I don't care what anyone says. People try to say 'well Floyd Mayweather' and Mayweather is a decent fighter but I don't put him in the same class as Ray Leonard, I don't put him in the same class as Roberto Duran. Pound-for-pound the greatest fighter to ever live in my opinion is 'Sugar' Ray Robinson. One thing you have to bring into account is there was only one belt back then so competition was much more concentrated. Or you can make an argument for Henry Armstrong too. He was a little guy who had three world titles at the same time. If you ask me I don't go just off accomplishments I go on watching the guy. I don't consider myself a boxing fan, I'm a purist and just watching their craft I'd say 'Sugar' Ray Robinson. I love Duran too and I love Henry Armstrong and if there were some dream fights I could make it would be Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard at welterweight and Henry Armstrong verse Henry Armstrong at lightweight.
Q: What about currently, who do you rank as the number one pound-for-pound fighter right now?
A: "Terence Crawford. He has a lot of experience, he has a good chin and great defense. He also has really good offense and he has grit. He's also a switch hitter and he knows how to control a fight. I like Errol Spence a lot too but Terence knows how to control a fight."
Q: Since you mentioned Terence Crawford and Errol Spence, which is a fight that the fans really want to see, are you favoring Crawford in that fight?
A: "I'm on the fence. I'll say this: if you held a gun to my head I'd probably grab it and shoot you with it because I wouldn't want to make a decision. But I might lean towards 'Bud' Crawford just a little bit, maybe just a little bit. At the same time Errol Spence seems much bigger and stronger but it also seems like he gets hit a lot. I don't think he could just sit there and get hit by Crawford. 'Bud' has the kind of resolve where he can walk him down. I give the slight edge to 'Bud' Crawford, but it's slight."
Q: The Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament was very popular. You were part of that tournament, what was your experience like?
A: "It was horrible. The way things went down, not so much in the fight but I was pretty much ill prepared for the fight. I met with Ken Hershman in New York about how I felt like I should have been in the tournament anyway instead of Jermain Taylor. They said 'no' but when Taylor lost they told me I was in the tournament. Then all of a sudden they say 'no you have to fight Sakio Bika to get in the tournament.' I agreed to that and then they offered me a certain amount of money. Then they lowered the price and I felt like they were trying to get me to say I didn't want to be in the tournament. But I accepted that again and then they lowered the purse again. And they did it again and again but I still accepted the fight. Then a few weeks before the fight they called and said 'Sakio Bika is out, you're in, he couldn't get a work visa to get over here.' So after I did all the media stuff I was training for the Ward fight and I felt great. So I'm training for Ward but he got injured and pulled out. About five weeks before the fight I get a call saying it's back on. By that time it was very hard for me to make the weight. I was 27 pounds over the limit, three weeks before the fight. I was dead by the time I got to the fight, I was dead. I wanted the experience to be nice but it just wasn't."
Q: What is it like having to lose that much weight in such a short period of time, what is that process like?
A: "For me I don't have a lot of fat on my body anyway. For me it was one of the hardest things that I ever had to do. I had some people say 'Well I can do it, I can do it' and I say 'yeah but you started with a lot of fat.' I have an athletic build so I don't have a lot of fat on me. By the time I made weight I couldn't even make a fist. I'll tell you exactly what I did. I would get up in the morning and I would eat a bowl of soup and drink 10 ounces of water. I would go to the gym and train and drink about 16 ounces of water and then I would get back home and eat another bowl of soup and I would go to sleep. I had to do that for three weeks and it was torture. I almost didn't go to the Ward fight because I felt so weak and so bad and my trainer said we might have to postpone it. But after talking to people I felt like if we postponed it they might take me out of the tournament, so we went."
Q: You recently returned to the ring after a five year absence. Why such a long layoff and what brought you back?
A: "I had to let my body heal man, I had a lot of issues. I don't know if you remember but I had surgery years ago and I had a lot of issues afterwards. I never felt my best even when I was fighting. Right before the Caparello fight it kind of caught up with me. I started having issues with my thyroid and I had something called adrenal fatigue. That's a horrible thing to have. I tried fighting with it but I wasn't right, I just wasn't right at all, I couldn't lose any weight and I felt horrible. So I didn't mean to take off five years, I meant to take off a year. I tried to get a fight hard as hell and I couldn't get one, I had like four fights fall out, fall through. I wanted to get well and when I did I was trying to get a fight all the time but I couldn't.
Q: What's next for you? Do you have any fights on the horizon, are you looking to continue your career?
A: "Oh yeah. I'm looking at one opponent who I think is fighting in Poland soon. I'm just trying to get fights. I didn't retire, I'm going to fight as long as I want to."
Question: You're from Oklahoma, which isn't exactly a hotbed of boxing. When most people think Oklahoma they think football. So how is it you got started in boxing?
Answer: "You're right, its a hotbed for wrestling and football. Actually my father boxed and I used to go to the gym with him. With my father being a fighter I'd always go to the gym with him, I've been in the gym since I was a baby practically."Q: The nickname 'Ghost Dog,' who gave it to you and what does it mean?
A: "One of my brothers gave me that name. Usually my nickname was 'Sweetness' but he gave me the nickname 'Ghost Dog' and it caught on. Certain people used it and sometimes they'd use it for my fights so I just went with it. I think it's from a movie, man I don't know, something like that."
Q: When you were growing up were you all about boxing or did you play any other sports?
A: "I played football in high school but it was always about boxing. Like I said I've been in the gym since I was one but I was the quarterback for my high school my freshman year. I also played basketball for my high school my freshman year. But it's just who I am, I didn't like the lack of dedication, of the personal dedication in team sports. Because if your dedication and drive isn't reciprocated it's like 'you guys aren't of the same accord' so I got away from team sports. I just couldn't stand losing because of another person because of a lack of drive or dedication or they weren't taking it seriously."
Q: What went into the decision to really dedicated your life to boxing?
A: "You know it's funny man, I just love it. It was always just the way it was, it was always what I wanted to do. There was never any particular time where I said 'Okay I'm going to go ahead and do this' I just always wanted to do it. I didn't choose boxing, boxing chose me.Q: You've been in a lot of good fights against a lot of tough opponents. Is there one fight that stands out as the toughest of your career?
A: "Here's the thing, when I just had a few fights I fought Ola Afolabi and he's a good fighter. I beat him but his skill level was a lot more advanced than mine. I think I only had a few fights at that time. At the end of the day I know it's all relative but I felt like it was one of the toughest fights I ever had even though I won. It was just because of how advanced he was. Obviously I fought Andre Ward who was a better fighter than Afolabi but in the fight with Afolabi I was healthy, I was strong, I was really feeling it but I could really feel the difference in skills."
Q: The fight against Ola Afolabi was just the fourth fight of your professional career. Do you think going through a fight early in your career against a skilled opponent like that really helped you moving forward?
A: "Of course. It could make or break some guys but for me to be able to fight him and do as well as I did, it does a lot for your confidence. Now seeing that look you can move forward and feel confident seeing other looks. It just did a lot for me.
Q: You've faced a lot of good fighters during your career. Is there one who stands out as having the best chin and one who stands out as being the hardest puncher?A: "A guy by the name of Tyrone Jackson who I fought in one of my first few fights. He had the best chin. I actually hurt my hand on his head. I know I fought guys who hit harder than this guy, but this guy hit me the hardest and it actually hurt and that was Jerson Ravelo. He hit me with a right hand and it was crazy. It felt like someone had a brick on the end of a pool stick and just jammed it right in my face."
Q: Boxing fans love to debate fantasy fights. If you could challenge any fighter, active or retired, who would it be?
A: "If I could? Man, that's a good question. Maybe Marvin Hagler at a catchweight. I grew up watching him and I was a fan but I loved Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns and those are guys that I actually know and I'm cool with, and Roberto Duran too so I didn't want to say them. I love them all but I don't know Marvin like I know the other guys."
Q: Another thing that can get boxing fans into a spirited debate is discussing who the greatest fighter of all-time is. Who do you consider to be the best to ever lace up a pair of gloves?
A: "Look, this argument will go on for a long time, but hands down, 'Sugar' Ray Robinson is the greatest fighter that's ever lived. I don't care what anyone says. People try to say 'well Floyd Mayweather' and Mayweather is a decent fighter but I don't put him in the same class as Ray Leonard, I don't put him in the same class as Roberto Duran. Pound-for-pound the greatest fighter to ever live in my opinion is 'Sugar' Ray Robinson. One thing you have to bring into account is there was only one belt back then so competition was much more concentrated. Or you can make an argument for Henry Armstrong too. He was a little guy who had three world titles at the same time. If you ask me I don't go just off accomplishments I go on watching the guy. I don't consider myself a boxing fan, I'm a purist and just watching their craft I'd say 'Sugar' Ray Robinson. I love Duran too and I love Henry Armstrong and if there were some dream fights I could make it would be Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard at welterweight and Henry Armstrong verse Henry Armstrong at lightweight.
A: "Terence Crawford. He has a lot of experience, he has a good chin and great defense. He also has really good offense and he has grit. He's also a switch hitter and he knows how to control a fight. I like Errol Spence a lot too but Terence knows how to control a fight."
Q: Since you mentioned Terence Crawford and Errol Spence, which is a fight that the fans really want to see, are you favoring Crawford in that fight?
A: "I'm on the fence. I'll say this: if you held a gun to my head I'd probably grab it and shoot you with it because I wouldn't want to make a decision. But I might lean towards 'Bud' Crawford just a little bit, maybe just a little bit. At the same time Errol Spence seems much bigger and stronger but it also seems like he gets hit a lot. I don't think he could just sit there and get hit by Crawford. 'Bud' has the kind of resolve where he can walk him down. I give the slight edge to 'Bud' Crawford, but it's slight."
Q: The Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament was very popular. You were part of that tournament, what was your experience like?
A: "It was horrible. The way things went down, not so much in the fight but I was pretty much ill prepared for the fight. I met with Ken Hershman in New York about how I felt like I should have been in the tournament anyway instead of Jermain Taylor. They said 'no' but when Taylor lost they told me I was in the tournament. Then all of a sudden they say 'no you have to fight Sakio Bika to get in the tournament.' I agreed to that and then they offered me a certain amount of money. Then they lowered the price and I felt like they were trying to get me to say I didn't want to be in the tournament. But I accepted that again and then they lowered the purse again. And they did it again and again but I still accepted the fight. Then a few weeks before the fight they called and said 'Sakio Bika is out, you're in, he couldn't get a work visa to get over here.' So after I did all the media stuff I was training for the Ward fight and I felt great. So I'm training for Ward but he got injured and pulled out. About five weeks before the fight I get a call saying it's back on. By that time it was very hard for me to make the weight. I was 27 pounds over the limit, three weeks before the fight. I was dead by the time I got to the fight, I was dead. I wanted the experience to be nice but it just wasn't."
Q: What is it like having to lose that much weight in such a short period of time, what is that process like?
A: "For me I don't have a lot of fat on my body anyway. For me it was one of the hardest things that I ever had to do. I had some people say 'Well I can do it, I can do it' and I say 'yeah but you started with a lot of fat.' I have an athletic build so I don't have a lot of fat on me. By the time I made weight I couldn't even make a fist. I'll tell you exactly what I did. I would get up in the morning and I would eat a bowl of soup and drink 10 ounces of water. I would go to the gym and train and drink about 16 ounces of water and then I would get back home and eat another bowl of soup and I would go to sleep. I had to do that for three weeks and it was torture. I almost didn't go to the Ward fight because I felt so weak and so bad and my trainer said we might have to postpone it. But after talking to people I felt like if we postponed it they might take me out of the tournament, so we went."Q: You recently returned to the ring after a five year absence. Why such a long layoff and what brought you back?
A: "I had to let my body heal man, I had a lot of issues. I don't know if you remember but I had surgery years ago and I had a lot of issues afterwards. I never felt my best even when I was fighting. Right before the Caparello fight it kind of caught up with me. I started having issues with my thyroid and I had something called adrenal fatigue. That's a horrible thing to have. I tried fighting with it but I wasn't right, I just wasn't right at all, I couldn't lose any weight and I felt horrible. So I didn't mean to take off five years, I meant to take off a year. I tried to get a fight hard as hell and I couldn't get one, I had like four fights fall out, fall through. I wanted to get well and when I did I was trying to get a fight all the time but I couldn't.
Q: What's next for you? Do you have any fights on the horizon, are you looking to continue your career?
A: "Oh yeah. I'm looking at one opponent who I think is fighting in Poland soon. I'm just trying to get fights. I didn't retire, I'm going to fight as long as I want to."
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