ALLAN GREEN vs CARLOS DE LEON Jr.

Time has been slipping away for Allan Green, with just two fights in 2008 and only one of them on TV — and that was an unimpressive win over Rubin Williams. On Saturday Green has the chance to come back in dramatic style on Showtime when he meets Carlos De Leon Jr. in the 10-round chief supporting fight to the championship bout between Carl Froch and Jermain Taylor.

If Green can win and look good in the process it could put him in position to fight the Froch-Taylor winner for the 168-pound title. He says he plans to make a statement and that he just hopes he doesn’t look so good that he scares off the title-fight winner. De Leon, though, sounds equally sure of himself, and he was aggressive in his manner at the weigh-in.

This could be an exciting and maybe explosive fight and should set the stage nicely for the main event.

Green is capable of being a dynamic fighter, as he amply demonstrated in his 18-second knockout win over Jaidon Codrington on ShoBox a few years ago. At other times, though, Green seems content just to cruise to a win on points. I think it all depends on the degree of threat he feels the other man presents, or maybe sometimes he just isn’t in the mood to go all out.

De Leon had an exciting win on Shobox a year ago when he came off the floor to stop James McGirt Jr. in the seventh round. He is big, strong and heavy handed. McGirt caught him high up on the head with a perfectly timed right hook from his southpaw stance, and it could be said that De Leon was saved by the bell after the eight count. He came out fresh and ready to fight in the seventh, though, surprised McGirt with a big left hook and then battered him to the canvas twice.

There is no doubt that De Leon is dangerous, but he can be a bit open when he throws his punches and I understand that he has been down six times as a professional. (This includes De Leon getting dropped three times in a fourth-round KO defeat against the journeyman Marcos Primera.)

Green, of course was shockingly knocked down — and very nearly stopped — by the averagely talented Donnie McCrary, while he was down and almost out in the last round against Edison Miranda. In the Miranda fight, however, Green was in a weakened conditioned due to a paralysed colon (he subsequently had a section of colon removed) and he told me later that it was amazing he not only managed to get through the 10 rounds against Miranda but even had the Colombian on the floor.

Both Green and De Leon are 29, and each is capable of hurting and stopping the other. De Leon might be the stronger man, but I view Green as considerably the more skilled. I think that De Leon will be pressing the fight, which could bring out the best in Green, because if he is under pressure he is more inclined to open up and try to get his opponent out of the fight.

I will be a little surprised if this fight goes the distance, and I see Green as the winner. I think he has the better defence and is a bit faster and sharper with his punches — especially the left hook. I am expecting Green to use his boxing skills to avoid getting hit by any big, flush shots, and I think he will eventually be able to catch De Leon with the sort of big punch that will end the fight, maybe around the seventh or eighth round.