By Eugene Carnachan reporting from Melbourne, Australia: Danny Green 32 wins (KO 28)-5 losses (KO 2) V Shane Cameron 29 wins (KO 22)-2 losses (KO 2) is shaping up as an exciting contest.

Tonight’s fight at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena has been promoted to the gunnels by both team Green and Cameron with a lot of interest now abounding around this Australia V New Zealand stoush.

Fans of each pugilist have read or seen the inundation of coverage detailing the merits of their fighter, fans basically divided by the Tasman Sea that separates the age old rivalry Australia and New Zealand athletes cherish so.

Both men have worked themselves into impressive physical condition and the reason they have lies very much in who they are as men.

Shane Cameron and Danny Green grew up an ocean apart, Green being brought up in the Western Australian city of Perth, Cameron hailing from an isolated rural community named Tiniroto on New Zealand’s remote East Coast.

Although poles apart in terms of countries and origins this contest has similarities with one particular common denominator defining the fighters both men are; mental fortitude.

Shane Cameron ability to put sweat on the boards of a gym and go to the dark recesses of an athletes mind in pushing himself past the pain barrier and into that rarefied mental space of self-inflicted pain, a pain that allows him to extract the best out of his body and in doing so taking his average repertoire of boxing skills to the cusp of becoming a world champion.

Cameron while not blessed with great hand speed, boxing skills or ring savvy is testament that will and application can overcome boxing deficits and still allow a fighter like Cameron a shot at boxing’s biggest stages.

Danny Green the older man by four years is no stranger to hard work himself, he has never met a boxing contest he didn’t come in to having punished himself physically in extracting the warrior many men have but few know how to conjure – Danny Green has the potion down pat.

Green is the far more talented boxer in the purist sense, a sound technician, great base skills, technique and ring smarts he innately was born with more tools to work with than Cameron and those skills combined with his work ethic have incrementally forged the elite fighter that is Danny Green.

It’s that attitude that has taken Green to the upper echelons of boxing in allowing him to win three world titles.

When these two guys’ square noses in the eye to eye stare down fans are going to see two outstanding exponents of discipline and application, they should sit back and enjoy that very fact.

Two men cut from the same mental cloth often means a dog fight, a battle of wills.

Neither Shane Cameron or Danny Green are runners, both are fighters and both are coming to this contest believing they will win, however the size differential may play a pivotal factor in the strategies each man employs in looking to win this fight

While both fighters have been knocked out both of Cameron’s knock out losses came from bonafide heavyweights, one being the fearsome puncher that is David Tua.

Danny Green’s two knock out losses were against a juice enhanced former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver and reigning WBC belt holder Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.

Cameron has felt genuine heavyweight power, Green does not possess heavyweight power.

Cameron came in at the agreed weight of 89 kilograms (nearly two kilograms shy of the 90.7 the Cruiserweight limit is) while Green came in at 85 kilograms.

Shane Cameron hydrated, eating and inflated could come into tonight’s contest at around 96 kilograms, giving him a potential 10 plus kilogram weight differential and in doing so effectively making this a contest between a lighter cruiserweight and a fully-fledged heavyweight.

In this contest Green will be his wilful self but it will be controlled by a sound game plan in much the same manner he saw off the younger and stronger BJ Flores, Danny Green will stick and move and look to walk the mojo out of Cameron in running his tires flat while working his body – Green is an outstanding body puncher.

Green isn’t going to try and fight Cameron in a phone booth, he is not that stupid and fully understand size and power tip in favour of Cameron.

Will Green sticking and moving and trying to run Cameron airless be enough for Green to win this fight? I don’t think so, I think Cameron has done the hard work for this fight and will toe step Green and force the fight on Green.

Danny Green will be the definitively smaller man and Cameron will simply look to take him in to the deep water Antonio Tarver and Krzysztof Wlodarczyk did before dispatching him.

I’ve said it before regarding this fight and I will say it again, Green is the more skilled man and each fighter is built on a foundation of will but in this particular sheer size and will prevails over skill and will.

Cameron by KO in mid to latter rounds.