Green Decisions Drews, Wins WBA Light Heavyweight Title

Last night, Australian light heavyweight Danny Green (25-3, 22 KOs) pulled off a minor upset when he won a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision over 6′5′ Croation Stipe Drews (32-2, 13 KOs) at the Challenge Stadium, in Mt Claremont (Perth), Western Australia. The final judges’ scores were 118-110, 120-108 and 118-111, giving Green the victory and the WBA light heavyweight championship along with it. In the early rounds, Drews controlled the action using his jab and excellent ring movement to keep Green bottled up on the outside.

Periodically, Green would land a big shot and get Drews’ attention but for the most part, the action was controlled by Drews. As the fight progressed, however, Drews, 34, began to tire out under the constant pressure from Green. By the 5th round, Drews’ legs were gone and he was mostly pushing his punches, having little luck evading Green’s effective attacks.

In rounds 8-12, Green badly punished Drews, hitting him off with big right hand shots and snapping his head back. Though Drews attempted to mount a late round attack in the 12th, Green sealed the victory with some brutal combinations that stalled Drews’ attack. With this victory, Green sets himself up for potential big money fights against the other light heavyweight champions, Clinton Woods and Zsolt Erdei.