Lucas ready for aggressive Green!

December 16, 2003

By Dave Spencer

With the first snowfall of the year descending on Montreal, hometown hero Eric Lucas is optimistic that there will be no chance for a “Green” Christmas this year. Lucas battles Danny Green this Saturday, December 20th at the Bell Centre for the WBC Interim super middleweight championship and the right to meet champion Markus Beyer in Germany at the end of February. Both Green and Lucas were slated as mandatory challengers for the champion Beyer after going to Germany and returning each with a controversial loss. Now however they face off against each other with Lucas being forced to call upon all of his 12 years experience as he tries to hold off the upstart knockout artist Green who has yet to go the distance in any of his 17 pro bouts scoring an impressive 16 wins and 16 knockouts. In the last fight Green put the champion Beyer down in each of the first the first two rounds before being disqualified for an illegal head butt in the 6th round. The fact that Montreal promoters Interbox are billing this fight as a ‘Head-On-Collision’ could therefore prove to be just a touch more ironic than they were hoping for.

Fightnews caught up with Lucas as the former champion went through the paces of a public workout this past weekend in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd and staying and signing autographs and having his picture taken with all those in attendance. For Lucas it was a chance to reconnect with his hometown fans after not having fought here in over a year. Promoters Interbox agreed figuring the time was now to get Lucas before his public instead of risking any more delays in pursuing a fight with Beyer. “We didn’t have a choice,” says Interbox general manager Yvon Michel. “It was important for Eric to stay active, it was either have him wait until February 28th for Beyer and maybe have that fight go. At the time we made the decision we didn’t know whether Beyer would be able to go or not. The only boxer the WBC would agree to for an interim bout was Danny Green. Green would have been our mandatory after Beyer anyway so whether we fight him before or after doesn’t make any difference.”

Despite his perfect record, Green was a virtual unknown before his clash with Beyer. His 16 knockouts had come almost exclusively on Australian soil and he was hand picked as the one optional defense that was granted to Beyer. But while flooring the champ twice wasn’t enough to bring home the belt, it was certainly enough for the entire super middleweight category to stand up and take notice.

“Danny Green is definitely a big risk,” says Michel, “But the rewards will be that much greater. It’s going to be very tough, Eric will be challenged from the opening bell until the end.”

Just when that end will be remains to be seen as Green has yet to have a fight go past the eighth round. In fact he’s only had 3 fights go past the 5th averaging a little over 3.5 rounds per fight. Lucas will have to draw on his experience to try to extend things into the championship rounds, somewhere he has been 10 times before. It was about that experience and fighting in front of his hometown crowd that Eric spoke to Fightnews about.

Tell me your feelings about being back in front of your hometown fans and signing autographs?
It’s a good feeling to see a lot of people show up today even the cold temperatures outside. It’s certainly a good sign for Saturday.

Hometown crowd or not, it’s been since April since you last fought, you must be hungry to get back in the ring.
I’m definitely very hungry to get back in the ring but the fact is I expected to fight Beyer and now it’s Green. So Green will be more the appetizer and Beyer will be more the main course and the dessert. I feel there is still something to settle with Markus Beyer, so there won’t be any problem in staying hungry after the fight.

Has there been any problem in changing gears and getting ready for a fight with Danny Green? Ever since April all your efforts have been focused on Markus Beyer and getting a rematch with him.
I’m used to postponed fights, it’s part of the game, it’s happened before in my career so it’s not much of a problem. Also to go from a southpaw to an orthodox boxer is not a big deal because that’s who I’ve fought most of my career.

Tell me what you know of your opponent?
He looks physically very strong with some power. He doesn’t seem to be a super-technical fighter. He is in the caliber of an Omar Shieka with maybe a little bit more power in his punch. If you take control of the fight early in the fight sometimes what happens with him is that he panics. It’s when he panics that he loses some control and throws head butts and elbows and stuff like that.

Is that what you felt happened in his fight against Beyer?
When he panics, he uses his head. Early on Green was in total control of the fight but then Beyer came and started to take some and control and then Green started to do some nasty stuff like use his head. When they got in close to each other it is in that circumstance that Green will use his head.

If that’s the case, how do you combat something like that?
Just try to keep my distance. And when we get close, try to get real close so he can’t use his head.

How do you feel your experience including fighting into the 12th round 5 times will help against an opponent who has yet to have a decision in the ring?
The longer it gets definitely the more of an advantage I’ll have.

Yvon Michel adds: “We can’t afford to start slow though. If Eric gets cut, it will go to the scorecards so we can’t afford to fall behind. It’s good if it goes longer but we have to be ahead in case it’s stopped early.

So you want your presence to be felt early?
Yes. Definitely.

Both you Markus Beyer are very good defensive fighters and we was surprised very early. What can you do in there that Beyer didn’t?
Beyer is Beyer. He is slow starter, I’ll be alert and focused. I feel I’ve got a much better chin too.

Do you feel the secret will be to get past those early rounds?
It’s not necessarily a question of rounds, but it is more a question of who imposes his will on who early on. If I impose my will early on he might panic and make mistakes and it will be to my advantage. Most important is to stick to the game plan and to impose my will and to keep him out of his comfort zone.

You’re fighting for the WBC ‘Interim’ belt. What exactly does that mean to you?
It’s the not the title itself as the fight itself against one of the top contenders. It only becomes important if Beyer can’t fight.

Is there any chance of looking past this fight since it is Beyer who the belt that you want?
The fight against Green is the real thing right now. The Beyer fight is only something that might happen in the future. There is no problem focusing on Green.