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Danny Green Anti Violence Raising A Boxer And The Night At Sea He Thought Was His Last

He's the only Australian boxer to win four world titles

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Published 9 days agoDuration: 1:493030 timestamps
3030 timestamps
Danny Green is a legend of Australian sport.
He's the only Australian boxer to win four world titles
across three different weight divisions,
having previously represented his country at Commonwealth
and Olympic Games level as an amateur.
Danny is highly respected in the community for his philanthropy
and passion for supporting people from all ages and walks of life.
Danny Green has dedicated himself and self-funded his anti-violence movement,
the Cowards Punch Campaign,
aimed at preventing senseless and unnecessary attacks on helpless victims.
Danny's efforts has resulted in a change in the vernacular
from what was previously labelled a king hit or a one-punch attack,
seemingly glorifying the sickening acts
to now the term used everywhere as Cowards Punch,
a legacy that may well outweigh Danny Green's extraordinary achievements
in the boxing room.
Danny, it's always good to see you.
Thanks for joining me.
Thanks for having me, Luke.
It's been a long time, mate.
It has been too long, Danny.
I look at the screen and I see a good-looking young surfer from Perth.
How did you go on and become an international boxing star?
Well, I've gone the full circle because I'm surfing more than I've ever surfed
in my life now.
So I don't know, mate.
I guess I could ask you the same question.
You kick it back doing what you're doing.
You don't look a day over 35, mate.
So you've kept in great nick in your career.
I guess you might agree to help me out here with this question that we'll answer.
But I don't really – when I was doing it and I was younger and I was really
pushing and striving, I didn't really think I was going to be a champion
and I didn't really think I was going to achieve what I did.
I wanted to and I dreamt of it, but I didn't.
I wasn't so self-assured.
Like with someone like yourself, were you always like,
I'm going to be an AFL superstar?
Was that what you thought when you were young or you just pushed towards it?
It's a good reflection, Danny, isn't it?
Because I think as a kid, I could picture myself, that's me and what I want to be.
But a lot of times –
On the way, you always got injured.
Am I good enough?
Am I going to be able to compete at this level?
So I think the doubt is always there.
And you're right.
You're probably so focused on trying to do it, you don't overthink about getting
to the end point.
But I suppose I'm asking the question, Danny, because I look around the world
of boxing and this may be a generalization that's wrong.
And I think most kids come potentially from broken families or the hardest
to know.
The Mike Tyson story where dysfunctional kids,
dysfunctional family.
And I look at Danny Green, I think, you know, from a really solid family
and there are a lot of other choices to go on to be one of the –
an internationally regarded boxer.
Is that, you know, maybe more surprising?
Probably – I don't know, mate.
No, because I started – my old man got me into karate.
He was a farmer from back in the day.
My old man was very old school and he was a farmer on the wheat belt,
wheat and sheep.
And then him and my mother ran into drought three years in a row.
So my sisters and them came to the city, but my brother was just born.
Then I was born.
A couple of years later, then Dad started working at Huntley Jacks
and 38 years later retired.
So Dad was, you know, very working class and worked his butt off
and instilled some great values in us kids.
And we were very, very blessed, as you said, Luke,
to have a very tight family unit.
Yeah, we had ups and downs.
Like all families do, you know, you have your ups and downs.
But generally speaking, we were very blessed to have a mother
and a father that were both completely invested in all our lives.
And then our father passed in 18.
But Mum's still with us.
And she's still kicking and she's still invested in our lives.
And we're very fortunate.
And then myself and my wife were invested heavily in our children's lives.
So it's flowed on to that.
But for me, boxing, Dad got me into fighting.
He loved fighting.
My old man was old school.
He was a bit of a knockabout, the old boy.
And he loved the game.
He didn't really want me to fight.
He got me into karate early so I could, you know, protect myself.
He wanted me to be able to and my brother to be able to look after ourselves.
It just went from there.
I fell in love with it.
And then when Dad took me down to Nookaburra Hotel,
which is a...
Yeah.
It used to be an iconic hotel here in Perth.
Pretty rough old joint.
That was Dad's local down the road.
And we were down there.
I was there 13 years old, 12 years old,
watching Jeff Fennec win his first world title against Shingaki in 1985.
I was in my PJs, propped up on the bar,
looking around with these blokes going mad,
going...
And look at the TV going,
I think I want to do that.
Extraordinary, isn't it?
Your dad was one of 11, as you said,
from the weak belt in country WA
and came down and, you know,
after drought,
ran the Hungry Jack store.
You said you got into mixed martial arts as a kid.
It was about maybe learning to protect yourself.
Do you look now and think perhaps if that era was brought forward
that you might have been in the UFC
or would that have been a path you might have taken?
It was a bit early for UFC.
So I started boxing,
my first amateur fight in 1992
and I had a couple of kickboxing fights before that
and I got my black belt in karate when I was 17.
All I did was hold my pants up, look.
You know, but I was around that for a long time.
I was competing in contact,
full contact tournaments from the age of 15
so I really loved it
but I actually always wanted to box
because my father loved it.
I used to watch Wildwood Sports on Sunday mornings.
You know, Kenny Sutcliffe would bring us all the highlights
from Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard
and my favourite Thomas the Hitman Hearns
and marvellous Marvin Haglis.
I'd watch those guys on TV going,
fuck, I want to do that.
But I didn't realise I gravitated towards it
and then my father's,
a guy that my father worked with,
the Hungry Jacks,
was a little Burmese guy
that emigrated from Burma with his family
and his brothers.
And he was in line at Hungry Jacks one day
to get a job
and the old man saw him and said,
come on in, mate.
You look like a hard worker.
And they had a chat.
Dad gave him a go
and they became very, very close, mate.
So close that, you know,
he was holding my father's hand
when he took his last breath as we were
so he was really close with us.
And he was my very first boxing coach,
little Burmese guy.
He looks like Mr. Miyagi.
My name's Daniel.
He used to call me Daniel's son.
He'd never seen the bloody movie Karate Kid.
But it was magic, mate.
And yeah, from when I met Pat,
my first,
I used to go watch Pat's son,
box amateur when we were younger as well.
Dad would take us to the fights.
I've always gravitated
and wanted to be a boxer.
And then since I had my very first
training session with Pat,
that was it.
I was completely hooked.
Danny, it's a great,
I didn't know that part of your story.
It's the best of multicultural Australia,
isn't it?
Burmese friends as parents goes on
to train Danny Green,
a four-time world champion
as it turns out.
And, you know,
I look at your history, Danny,
as I said in the intro,
you've done things others
have never been able to achieve
in Australia.
In boxing.
But to me,
I think I even gain more respect for you.
And I go to that night
that all of us will remember,
17th of May, 2006,
your first fight against Anthony Mundine.
Record still for pay-per-view event
in Australian sport.
And it's a fight that you ended up losing.
But I think your words immediately,
and I can only imagine
what that would have been like,
that huge event
and every pub in Australia is full
and you're either in the Mundine camp
or the Danny Green camp.
But you said,
afterwards,
straight away,
simple as that,
I was beaten by a better man
on the night.
How did you find that integrity
after such a disappointing moment
right after it happened?
I guess if I had my time back
in many of my interviews,
I would have said different things.
You know, hindsight's a wonderful thing, Luke,
as we all can appreciate.
But I wouldn't have changed
what I said that night.
You know,
I was beaten fair and square
on the night by Mundine.
He did the job.
There's no point talking about
some of the immense hardships
physically and emotionally
that I went through
leading up to that fight.
There's no point worrying about that
because it doesn't matter.
We were both in there
trying to knock each other out
and he won on points
and he fought a great fight.
He had a...
And I now know the training camp
that he had.
I've looked back
and spoken with his father
and I've known Tony for a long time.
He's a great man.
And Choc and I,
you know,
we've broken bread
and for me,
it was never a hatred
or never a particular dislike.
It was just,
I'm a better fighter.
He thought he's a better fighter
and it went on for a long time
and,
you know,
right,
it's still going on
because if I die tomorrow,
I'll die knowing
I'm a better fighter than Choc
and he'll probably be at my funeral
telling people
that he's a better fighter than me
even though I'm fucking dead.
So,
it's a genuine rivalry
that will go to where it's gone
and I think that's what made it work
because,
you know,
it was genuine
but it was,
for me,
it was never really personal much
at all.
I think the media,
as you know,
Luke,
the media really helps mould
and shape things
and they really love to go down
the road
with the,
you know,
the Muslim,
indigenous angle
and me being the Catholic white fella
where I'm an atheist
and I'm,
you know,
I had nothing to do with religion.
It doesn't mean really much to me
and it was kind of skewed that way
by the media
and Choc ran with it
because he knows what's good for sales.
So,
it was,
after the fight,
it was what it was.
I'm severely concussed,
you know,
you bust it up
and,
you know,
I just wanted to pay respects
to the bloke
and that's how I was raised,
mate.
Shake hands,
look the guy in the eye,
cop it sweet,
cop it on the chin,
move forward
and go back next time
and do better.
So,
that was it,
mate.
I don't think it was something
that I tried to do.
It was just how I've been raised
by my old man and my mum
and that's how we are
and that's how you are.
It's how a majority of people
I'd like to think are.
Yeah,
but you've still got to do it
in the moment,
Danny,
and I think that,
to me,
I remember watching the screen
and I think there's nothing
harder to watch
than a fighter
at the end of a fight
that hasn't won
because it's the ultimate
combat sport,
isn't it?
I feel great empathy
immediately
and I think,
you know,
in a footy game,
there's 17 teammates
to share that with.
You know,
in the square circle,
as you guys say,
you've got only yourself
and,
you know,
as you said,
it's well known
that the amount of weight
you had to lose
leading into that,
you know,
left you dehydrated
and there were plenty
of reasons for you
to say,
hey,
I wasn't at my best
on the night
but it takes integrity
to choose
just to cop the values
at the time.
Is that,
as you said,
just how you're raised
and how you raise your kids?
Yeah,
I'd like to think
that my children
behave in the same manner,
mate.
And the Anthony Mundine rivalry,
I'll ask you again,
it's,
it captivated all of us,
Danny,
didn't it?
Remember that night,
it was such a big night
in every bar
and you thought
that there was
that long-running feud
so it's great to hear
that over time
there's that respect
and even caught up
with his father,
Danny,
so the two of you,
if you catch up,
you're broken bread
and happy to share a beer?
Well,
both of us don't drink
so,
you know,
I go like this
with you
for a while,
I feel like I went
and chocked,
never drank
and that's something
that I really,
really admire
and respect about him too,
you know,
he's never drunk,
never smoked,
never touched drugs
and he's a very,
very clean living bloke
and,
you know,
there's a lot to admire
about that
and it's a lot
that people from today's
youth,
you know,
should look at
and take,
you know,
take something away
from that
and I gave up the grog
nearly five years ago
so we'll have a cup of tea
and a laugh
but yeah,
we've spoken,
we've seen each other
on a few occasions,
I've commentated
his son's first
professional fight,
I've always been
very respectful of his father
because I grew up
watching TV ringside,
my old man had me
watching TV ringside
so that Tony Mundine
and Hector Thompson
and Kahuma Hunga fights,
you know,
they're legendary fights
back in the day
and Sharky Raymond
and all those boys
so I grew up
with a great respect
for Tony
and then obviously,
you know,
to be in such a massive fight,
it was pretty bizarre,
I remember driving
to the venue
on the night
and we were doing it
so we didn't really know
how big it was
and I don't think anyone knew
how big the pay-per-view
was going to go,
so Foxtel,
again,
you know,
proved how good they are,
they ran out of people,
the phone line shut down,
they couldn't cover
and to be fair,
in the future,
they did it numerous times
when we had pay-per-views
and they should have
handled it
and should have been
equipped way better
but the first one,
to be fair,
they just didn't realise
the enormity
of how many people
wanted to see the fight,
I don't think that record
has ever been broken,
they can talk about it
in the media,
they can throw numbers around,
it ain't going to get touched
and the second one
was myself,
and the third one,
the third highest
still rates
is myself
and Mundine's remap,
so the top three
Choc and I have got,
I've got three,
he's got two of them,
so I've got one up
in the end of the Choc,
I've got three pay-per-views
but yeah,
it was pretty bizarre,
driving down Cleveland Street
which is an artery
from where I was
in Newtown to the city
to go to Aussie Stadium,
there was pubs
that had barriers
and traffic cones
out on the road
because people
were spilled out
onto the footpath
and there was all these
high-vis security guys
and all these pubs
were driving down
because it's quite a busy
artery,
Cleveland Street
with a fair few pubs
and it was packed
and that's when I went
driving past
looking at these people
all spinning out
of the pubs
on all the pubs
on the way to the venue,
I was like,
wow,
this is a big deal,
this is full on
and as it turns out
it was,
yeah,
it went gangbusters
and Choc and I
had a great run,
we dominated
the pay-per-views
for 15 years,
16 years,
17 years,
it was a great run
and we're both
very, very appreciative
of being in each
other's careers,
having enriched
each other's careers
I feel.
I love hearing you
say that Danny,
it's a great end point
isn't it,
after a rivalry like that
to finish where
the two of you are
and I sometimes think
the ultimate alpha male
to me is the combat sport,
Danny Greens
and Anthony Munday
as you put it all
on the line
and go in the ring
and then to hear
that you guys
are such self-aware
that you can give up
drinking
and say,
you know what,
I don't need to do that
as well,
that that leadership
of self
transfers into other
areas of your life,
it's a great example,
is that how you felt
about it,
that you just,
you get to know yourself
pretty well
when you're a fighter?
Yeah,
you know,
I love to beer mate,
no one loves to beer
more than me
and I just did beer,
all I did was drink beer,
that's it,
didn't drink spirits,
occasionally I'd drink spirits
when I had way too many beers
but being a hyperactive bloke
I was the first to start
and I didn't want
the party to finish,
you know,
I was like,
come on boy,
let's get going,
you know,
and I had to give
and my father gave up
drinking around the same age,
and you know,
I'm telling my son,
I don't want my son
or my daughter to drink
and my daughter's been,
she's,
you know,
dabbled in a little bit
of alcohol
and she's never,
never to our,
to our delight,
she's not touched drugs
and she's never going to
because she,
it just,
it terrifies her
and alcohol's not really
a part of her life whatsoever,
she's 22 very soon
and my boy's only 16
and he's,
he's on a path
to doing something
with his life
and we just,
you know,
particularly as a young bloke,
alcohol,
um,
drugs it goes that same
but alcohol I think
is more damaging,
that'll ruin whatever
aspirations you have
of making anything
of your life,
particularly at a young age
and I couldn't tell him,
hey mate,
I don't want you drinking
if I'm still drinking
so I had to give it away.
Yeah,
which is great leadership
in itself.
Dan,
go to New Year's Eve 2012
and tragically,
a young man
by the name of Daniel Christie
was cowardly attacking
King's Cross,
he was minding his own
business that night
and he lost his life,
it,
it changed your life
as well Danny
when you look
back,
why did you feel
so compelled
after that
to make a stand?
I don't really know
look,
I guess,
I'm,
I'm,
I'm a bit
torn between
anti-violence
and violence
because
there,
I think there's a,
there's a necessity,
not necessity
but I think in violence
in some forms
regulates,
I think we could use
punishment
as,
as a regulator
and I don't mind
young blokes being,
I'm,
I'm,
I'm,
I'm completely opposed
to how young men
and young boys
are being shown
the right way
and the way to be
in our,
in our world
moving forward.
Young men have
a lot of testosterone,
it's a natural hormone,
we all know what it is.
Young women don't have
anywhere near as much,
they have a tiny bit
but they have mostly estrogen
which is a different
emotional,
you know,
hormone
and so then
when young boys
have,
are raging
and have testosterone
raging through their body
and they're told
to suppress it
and,
and keep it inside
and you can't do this,
you can't do that,
you're not allowed to tackle
on the footy field anymore,
you can't play British Bulldog
at school,
you can't bump and wrestle
and grind with your mates,
it's not,
it's,
it's too violent,
it's too aggressive.
It's going to come out
in different areas
when they're older
down the track
in different scenarios
which is no good.
So,
young boys need,
not need to be violent
but they need to be,
they need to release
that aggression
and that aggression
needs to be channeled
because every boy has it
and I think it needs
to be amended
the way we're looking
at raising our young boys
in society
and but,
Yeah,
it's a great point Danny,
isn't it?
I'll jump in on that
for a second
and I'll ask you
coming back to the
Cowards Punch campaign
because it feels like
the needle has moved
as you said
to a point where
it's so confusing
for our young boys
growing up
and you listen to
Scott Galloway
who's an academic
on this
and really articulate
about,
you've got to let,
we want young boys
to grow up
to be strong young men
but as you said
in a regulated environment
competitive sport
and combat sports
are a great avenue
for that,
aren't they Danny?
It teaches you
a way as you said
to control emotions
and have the discipline
and have a life
like Danny Green's had
and if we try
and over correct that
we're trying to turn boys
into something
that they never are
and never should be
and so is that
the point you're making
is that we've pushed
too far
and we've got to
in safe spaces
because that leads to
as you said
then these cowardly attacks
like there's nothing
brave about someone
king hitting
was the old term
you know
cowardly punching someone
out the front
of a nightclub
and you've taken
a stand against that
because
there's the line
in the sand
isn't it?
That behaviour
comes out of
cowardice
rather than courage
doesn't it?
Absolutely
and we'll touch on that
in a second
going back to your point
about the needle
shifting too far
with young boys
in particular
absolutely
it's become absurd
and everyone gets
a participation trophy
there's no need
to strive
to be successful
there's no need
to strive
to be better
or good
or better yourself
because you're going
to get a trophy
and everyone wins
and it's okay
I think that's a shit go
and that's teaching people
to be ordinary
and to be extraordinary
is almost looked at
upon as a bad thing now
I can't get my head
around it
and how does that
teach people
to strive
to be better
how does that
teach people
to come back
from a loss
to come back
from a setback
and improve
their own lives
through their mental health
through their mental strength
it doesn't matter
everyone gets it
I don't have to try
because it's not really
there's no point
we're all the same
but we're not all the same
and some people win
some people lose
some people do things
better than others
and some people
don't
do things better
that they're better
in other ways
and I think we need
to really quickly
change the needle
back to where it was
because a good friend
of mine
a very close friend
of mine
worked in juvenile
detention over here
in Bankshire Hill
which is the prison
for young kids over here
they get 10 year olds
12 year olds
they get 14 year olds
15 year olds
that are murderers
rapists and murderers
from a very young age
violent offenders
very violent
and they've had
a horrendous upbringing
and there's a
really
reason why
they are that way
they're not born that way
the majority aren't
born that way
there's a reason
trauma etc
has formed
the way they are
but in the jail
my mate Brooks
he would
he was a very strict
disciplinarian
and he used sport
and exercise
as a way
to harness
these young men
these young blokes
energy
harness their energy
and channel it
and funnel it
into the right way
and he swears
and he knows
nearly 30 years
working with young men
that are violent offenders
and he swears
they loved
the discipline
they loved
to be told
what to do
they respected
being told
what to do
they actually looked
for a person
to guide them
to lead them
and to tell them
no not right
that's not right
and sternly tell them
no that's not right
I'm not politically correct
I raise my kids
how I raise my kids
no one's going to tell me
how to raise my own offspring
because my kids
are going to have
self-respect themselves
that means if they
respect themselves
they're going to respect
everyone else
in the community
and Danny
that's why I love
when you've got
a four time world
champion
who's made a living
out of violence
and better than
anyone else
saying hey
this is cowardly
this is something
that I'm not going
to accept
so you're the
perfect voice
for that
because you know
no one has got
more courage
than you and your
colleagues in your sport
so when you take a stand
you've changed
the needle on that
it's now part of
how we speak about it
that must make you
really proud
yeah it does
look it's
it's something
that many people
have asked
over the years
and they've stopped
asking it so much
oh what's a boxer
telling people
not to be violent for
you know
that's what he did
for a living
my violence
was sport
I've been you know
around that violence
from the age of
12, 30 years old
and it's you know
it can be unpleasant
it can be tough
it can be brutal
at times
but it is what it is
it's a sport
and I love it
and I wouldn't
change a thing
the fact that
young blokes
I was able to
going back to
the very first question
sorry Luke
why I started it
and why I wanted
to make a difference
is I thought
young blokes
would look up to me
hopefully seeing
what I'm doing
hopefully take a bit
of a get in the air
and what I'm going
what I'm doing
with the sport
and respect what
I'm trying to say
and trying to show them
and trying to tell them
that no one respects
this type of
anti-social cowardice
no one respects it
no one condones it
no one I know
that's a fighter
that's a top line fighter
or an ordinary fighter
or any
no one I know
none of my mates
respect that type
of putrid cowardice
you're not tough
you're not brave
so I wanted to
if two blokes
got a problem
they go outside
and have a fight
I don't have a problem
with that
that's the way it goes
that's the way it used to be
I mean we need to change it
a great deal
as long as it's
it's fair
and there's no one
you know
it is what it is
people are going to
jump up and down
with me saying that
because everyone's
so politically correct
and afraid to say
things these days
it gives me the shits
so if two blokes
want to punch on
and get their differences
out of the way
let them do it
this complete cowardness
where people are
looking for trouble
and just
I can't imagine
hitting someone
from behind
or from the side
without them even
knowing that
without even knowing
who they are
and they've done
nothing to me
I can't get my head
around that
so I want to make
a difference
I want to get them
the message
to the community
particularly young blokes
that no one respects
or condones
this type of
putrid cowardness
and you're going to
be branded a coward
that's why I chose
it to coward punch
it was kind of awkward
at the start
people were going
what's that
but it's resonated
with it now
the slip-slop-slap
campaign
the drink-driving
campaign
the buckle-up
campaign
have had billions
of government funds
poured into them
over decades
four, three, four,
five decades
and people
slip-slop-slap
people unfortunately
are still dying
from those
related issues
but the numbers
have grown
greatly reduced
and the coward punch
campaign
since 2012
we did a piece
of research
from the Victorian
Institute of Forensic
Medicine
through Professor
Jennifer Schuman
who was leading
the way there
an absolutely
awesome lady
and it showed
that from 2012
to 2018
the number of
deaths through
coward punches
have come down
and the campaign
is absolutely
working because
the awareness
now yourself
and everyone
in the media
whether it's TV
radio or print
publications etc
all referencing
the term
coward punch
judges and magistrates
handing down
terms
referencing the term
coward punch
so if the vernacular
has changed
in less than 10 years
it's been a magic
outcome
it's a great legacy
Danny
and I've got
enormous respect
and credit for you
and I love
the plain language
that you talk
because you can
it's a world
that you know
better than anyone else
I think you couldn't
get a better
advocate for it
almost 13 years ago
to the day
you defeated
the great
Roy Jones Jr
who is in the
conversation
for one of the
best pound for
bound boxers
in the history
of your sport
by a knockout
in the first round
and his form
leading into it
was outstanding
his form after it
was outstanding
how do you look
back on that one?
Not as good as
the degenerate
cigar cigarette
inhaling
you know
bottle of whiskey
a day
journos
that tend to
discredit
what most people
in this world do
but you know
it's just
unbelievable
like it's
I still pinch myself
and it
he took out
Jeff Lacey
in devastating
fashion
three months
before we fought
then he went
12 rounds
with the pound
for pound king
Bernard Hopkins
four months
after we fought
and I take him
out in the first round
people go
oh you know
it was
it was a set up
it was this
it's like
it's like saying
that you just went
and walked on the moon
that shit doesn't happen
and I don't ever
I've never ever
put myself
anywhere near
the same category
of fighter
as Roy Jones Jr
and I never will
I know where my
standards and levels
are but I knew
that on that night
if I'm able to
catch him clean
I can hurt anyone
in the world
I was gifted
with a punch
in 2005
and 2006
two years consecutive
running the ring
magazine
the bible of boxing
voted me the best
puncher in my
weight division
so I knew
I knew I had
a chance to beat him
but I wasn't
going to beat him
on points
and I had to jump
on him early
and Angela Hyde
my trainer and I
we had an amazing
training camp
and like yourself
Luke you know
when you
when you
go into the
biggest games
of your life
and you're going
injury free
you're going so
confident
you're going so
relaxed
not expecting to
take out the
three votes
but you do
well for me
that night
was the feeling
I had
I didn't have
any injuries
it was about
a week ago
about injuries
and stuff
and that training
camp was the
best training
camp I ever
had
I really
didn't have
any injuries
that I can remember
and just felt
sensational
and took the
opportunity when it
came and I
identified Roy
you know it was
a slow starter
in many ways
and he was
open to the
overhand right
to the ear
when he was
on the ropes
we identified
all these things
and I took
the chance
I jumped
him in the
first round
and I took
a punt
because I
could have
gassed myself
and I dropped
him in the
first minute
in a bit
of a fight
and then he
got up
and I just
basically clubbed
him until the
referee stepped
in because he
was going to
get knocked
out and he
was in shock
the world was
in shock
I was in
shock
it was bonkers
and like I
said I'm
nowhere near
Roy Jones
Jr.
but on my
night I
knew that
if I hit
my weight
division I'm
going to be
able to hurt
him and
yeah it
was bonkers
I'd encourage
anyone if you
haven't and you
follow the sport
or you don't
go back and
watch that
it's anyone
at the top
of their game
and you
articulated that
brilliantly
to beat some
of that level
you've got to
have everything
right and you
maybe have one
little window
you take the
window and
that will stay
with you for
the rest of
your day
a lot of
you know
you play sport
for a living
or I'd imagine
particularly in the
fight game Danny
life afterwards
there's a lot of
stories of people
that you know
hit the wall
afterwards because
they can never
recapture their
moment as a
boxer or whatever
sport they chose
but I look at
you Danny and
you've had success
in everything
you've done
you know in
your work in
the media or
your own
business career
what did you
what have you
found within
yourself Danny
to be able to
have such a
great chapter
after your
boxing career
ended
I've been
blessed mate
to have
you know
a wife that's
been extremely
supportive
and she's
50% of what
we've done
if not more
at times
and when I was
away in training
camp for long
periods of time
you know
my wife was
on her own
looking after
the kids
and she doesn't
ask for help
she does
everything herself
never look for
help
never ask anyone
for not a
single person
for a hand
and you know
just buckled up
and did what
she needed to do
so she's been
a massive
contributing factor
to our success
as a family
and my kids
as well
you know
they've been
fantastic
and I just
I guess
my old man
I
channel what
I think my old man
would do
and what I think
he would do
because he was
just a
ripping bloke
and one of my
best mate
and I really
took a lot
from what he
did in his life
and I look at
what would you do
after life
and I realised
boxing doesn't
last forever
I can't chase
those highs forever
and so I've
replaced the
drug of boxing
with the drug
of surfing
so now I push
my limits
in the ocean
and want to
you know
test them
because I love
adrenaline
I love going fast
I love being scared
so I push
it in the ocean
now
so I've replaced
it for the ocean
and
you know
realising that
I was blessed
to have a
career
I was blessed
to be able to
do what I love
that I was born
to do
I was good at
I was given
a gift
and I ran
with it
so I look at it
I'm not going
to piss and moan
about oh I can't
do this anymore
I go no man
I'm so lucky
I was able to do that
every single day
I need to
thank
thank whoever
for that opportunity
and thank myself
for it
and be blessed
and feel blessed
and move on
and go
it can't last forever
and the guys
that are coming
through now
I look at them
and go
I hope you're enjoying it
and I always
I always give
you know
a text message
all these fighters
from now on
and go
mate
the one thing
I want to give you
is enjoy it
just lap it up
and enjoy it
while you're doing it
because you know
you're in the prime
of your life
I'm ready to take
a bit to unnerve
Danny Green
from what I've seen
but they tell me
that Sydney to Hobart
2009 Danny
I read
in preparation
for our chat today
the first night
I think you might have
said something like
nothing
will erase
the memory
of that night
for Sydney to Hobart
I genuinely thought
I was going to die
can you share
that story with me
I'm really pissed
in my pants
I reckon
and I'd not
been on the boat
so I made
a morning
Anthony Bell
organised
this trip
this voyage
this maiden voyage
from a boat
that had been
sitting in
the swampland
in New Zealand
for four months
prior to the race
and then
all of a sudden
I was like
organised a magic crew
and got together
a group of people
that had some profiles
so myself
Larry Ender
Phil Waugh
Phil Kearns
Grant Hackett
we went on the boat
so we organised that
and it was to
raise money for
the Humpty Dumpty
Foundation
which then
puts machines
into hospitals
around regional
hospitals
around the country
so it was a
fantastic cause
how can I say no
and I'm terrified
of sailing
I love the ocean
I'm terrified
of being stuck
in a boat
I thought
I just
don't want to do it
I was shitting myself
and the first night
I'd never been on the boat
because I was fighting
Roy Jones
so I'd not done any training
the first time
I'd actually stepped
onto the boat
was on Boxing Day morning
when the boat left
and I'd never been
on the thing before
and then
got a
five minute run down
of what to do
we were just there
as the labourers
we were just pulling
the sails down
pulling back up
lugging stuff up and down
I was the first to vomit
I was the very first one
to spew
and after I didn't spew
I was pretty happy
yeah
the very first night
I remember we had to go
in the front of the boat
and it was just like
and we're on the
side of the boat
and you're just getting
buckets of water
coming at you
and I had to crawl
up the front of the boat
with other guys
and pull this sail
that had come unhitched down
and because
the front of the boat
was almost going
under water
with these big swells
that had come back up
and the sail was
over the edge of the boat
and the bow of the boat
is like a pin
it's so sharp
and I was crawling
and I didn't know
that I had to actually
latch on
my hook on
I had a belt on
that could latch on
these two lines
that ran down
the side of the boat
so if I did go over
you'd hang on
you'd be clipped on
I didn't even clip on
because I didn't
I wasn't trained
I wasn't used to it
and then
I remember lying
on the deck
like a cat
on a high
like I don't know
how to tell you
but just like a cat
just trying to crawl
crawl myself
to the deck
and I was thinking
to myself
I'm going to
fucking die
it's terrifying
excuse my language
and then
eventually
we pulled up
and I sat
on the edge of the boat
and our job
was really just
to sit in the boat
when it's on the edge
we'd sit on
this so I could
wait down a bit
so I was
you know
playing you right
and then
I remember
breathing to myself
in this lightning
and thunder
and hail
and squalls
pitch black
terrified
and just breathing
going
you're not going to die
you're going to be okay
you're not going to die
just chill out
and breathe
I had so much fun
I went back in 2014
and did it again
that sums you up
doesn't it
you actually went back
after that experience
and said
I can go again
Danny I love
asking people
from different
backgrounds around
for us
what leadership
looks like
and your story
is one of the
greats for me
and the work
you've done
in the ring
as a legend
but outside of it
is incredible
and we see
these sort of
patterns that
it's hard
we think
to start with
to lead someone else
unless you know
yourself Danny
like your own
sense of self
leadership
what does that
mean to you
to lead yourself
firstly
it's a tough one
Luke
because I'm
a space cadet
and everyone
knows me
I don't know
how he does
this stuff
he's hopeless
and I guess
I just want
I want to
try and always
you know
be seen
not be seen
but be known
to be doing
the right thing
but although
I'm a severe
non-conformist
and I really like
I don't like
following many rules
I'm not a conformist
at all
I'm bad
when it comes to that
I won't go into
that stuff
but I just
like to do
the right thing
by the right people
I believe everyone
deserves a second chance
I was raised
you know
to give everyone
a chance
I always
I've been raised
and I always have
my kids are the same
we always bat for the
underdog
we always look out
for people
always go looking
to help someone else
because I've found
that I live in Australia
I live in Perth
you know
I have a roof
over my head
I have a car
I can go to the
petrol station
and put petrol
in my car
I can go to the
doctor if I need to
I can go get groceries
so therefore
I have nothing
to complain about
and that's
I guess
how I just want
to live my
life is
I don't
I don't need a
great deal
all I need to be
is our health
and have the respect
of my family
and the love
of my kids
and I was looking
at a thing
on Instagram
my wife sent to me
the other day
it was about
what's true success
and I was interviewing
this very successful
and well-known
billionaire
I can't remember
who he was
but he said
this guy said
what's success to you
and he says
well success to me
is when my adult
children want to
come over
and spend
all their time
with me
and to me
that's what success
is
is having the
love and the
respect of our kids
and then if that
means being a leader
so if that means
being a leader
then I guess
it's worked
because you know
our kids are very
close with us
and we try and
guide them
and as you do
every old parents
do you go
through ups and downs
that's brilliantly
said
Danny
and I love
you know
the way
you know
your words come
out so authentically
in everything you say
it's funny you say
that we had last
night
our oldest is 20
moved out of home
and brought
a rang around
so I'm coming home
for dinner
I'm bringing a young
mate he's playing
AFL football
and a new recruit
and my wife and I
looked at each other
and went
you know what
it's sort of as good
as it gets
isn't it
they love your home
still
they're comfortable
bringing their mates
around
and I think you
described that
in a brilliant way
I haven't heard
anyone do it
quite like you just did
we see another
dimension Danny
around people
and you just described
it then
the idea to have
an impact positively
everywhere you go
on other people
on a daily basis
and you said
the values of the family
to always look out
for another person
underdog
and help other people
is that something
you think about
all the time
having that
positive impact
I don't think about it
Luke
I just can't help it
I see some
bloke on the side
of the road
or someone
that needs a hand
you know
that's just how we are
it's going
hey mate
need a hand
what's going on
how can I help
what do you need
need a lift
or whatever it may be
you know
I can't walk past
people who are
doing it tough
I find it very tough
and my wife's
exactly the same
and our kids
are exactly the same
I think
we're lucky
we're born
with a lot of empathy
and
I don't know
it's
for me
it just feels
the right thing
to do
and I always
I almost sometimes
feel guilty
being healthy
having a roof
over my head
and being able
to go
to the
grocery store
I almost feel guilty
I don't know why
but I always
have felt that way
so therefore
it's innate
in my personality
and my wife
we have to look out
for each other
for everyone else
and try and
help people
I don't know
what that is mate
but it's important
to us
and
I think
people go
oh it makes you feel better
yeah it does
but it's something
that I can't help
not doing
it just is what it is
It's pretty special
Danny
I love hearing you
talk about it
it's interesting
when you're
a four time world champion
and most people
have got a vision
of that
you said in the first answer
I didn't know
where that was
ever going to happen
I wanted to box
because I loved it
but have you
someone that sort of
creates a vision
and you really go about
sharing it
in the
areas of your life
you've had success
how do you go about
when you want to
achieve something
like that
I guess I do
I guess I did
you know what
I guess I worked out
early on that
if I train really
really hard
I'm going to get better
if I train hard
at that guy
I'm working hard
at that guy
then I'm going to
surpass what he's doing
and I'm going to
beat him
and if I've got
a good work ethic
my old man had
a great work ethic
and so
he passed that on to me
in some areas
like I said
my mates and family
go he's hopeless
he's got no
work ethic
he's a space cadet
so but
obviously I've got
something
doing something right
every now and then
but yeah I guess
at the moment
I've got something
you know
brewing I want to
put some flights together
so once I get a
B in my bottom
I kind of buckle up
and
and trying to achieve
that and try and
make it work
as good as possible
you know
but I've done
some things that
have not worked as well
plenty of things
that haven't worked
like you know
I've been
I've failed at things
and like we all do
that's part of life
and you learn from that
it's such a wanky
saying I learned it
it's a good learning curve
but it is
it is
you know
you learn from your mistakes
and if you don't learn
from your mistakes
which I have been
guilty of
not learning from
my mistakes
then you
you know
you pay for it
so I try and tell my kids
and try and educate my kids
as you would
as we all do as parents
don't make the same mistakes
I do
I'm trying to
and they go
oh you did that
yeah I did mate
I did that
and that's why I'm telling you
don't do it
so you know
someone said to me
this week
the only mistake
is the one
that you don't learn from
and I think
you summed that up
pretty well
are you curious Danny
we see leaders
who have success like you
they're curious
they're always
wanting to learn
and get better
or is that
the way you describe yourself
as being curious
yeah
yeah I would mate
like I was up last night
because my son
wants to fight
and I don't want him to fight
you know
your son's
on his way
to doing
you know
some magical things
in his life
and my boy's
you know
not quite 16
and he wants
to fight
and he's grown up
my whole family
he's grown up
my wife loves boxing
my kids
it's been a boxing household
and will be a boxing household
forever
and he wants to fight
and I'm like
mate I don't want you to fight
biologically
he's very young
he's a late maturer
you know
I didn't shave
until I was 23 years old
so you know
he's probably
13 or 14
although he's almost 16
but he's got a lot of talent
he's got a lot of ability
he's tough
he can punch
he can move
he's fast
he's skillful
and he loves to work
you know
and I'm pushing him
pushing him
pushing him
in the hope that he goes
this is too hard
and he keeps coming back
for more
so now I'm like
okay
he really wants to do this
so you know
I try and
I try and
you know
always teach him
you know
and show him
you know
the right things to do
but it's dangerous
it's not great for your health
it's you know
it's a fact
it's not
it's not
I'd rather
I'd rather him do something different
but if he wants to do it
I can't stop him
and I said to him
mate I'm not going to stand in your way
if unless it's
you're boxing
you want to fight for the wrong
reasons
if you think you'd be famous
and rich
and all this kind of shit
I won't
I'll stand in your way
but if you want to
if you want to fight
because you want to be fit
strong
willing
and able
and you want to be victorious
against another person
in a competitive nature
then I'll help you mate
I'll support you
so he's
you know
he's doing that at the moment
and he's loving it
but
yeah
well I loved it Danny
because I was thinking
you know
my own eldest son
Sam
who's 20
and you know
he's on the Bulldogs
loves it Danny
he's
he's a great guy
and
probably similar to you
as a dad
he goes
he's in a lot of ways
to do a lot of other things
but you can't manufacture passion
is what I always say
and he
he loves it
but
but for the first time in my life
when I watch
AFL
I see danger
and I see
oh shit
don't run there
oh don't do that
and
yeah
that's in a footy field
I can imagine
as a
as a boxer
having your son
that must be a hard thing
to watch and go
it's a sport
where you try and knock someone out
that's the aim of the game
is that you get in the ring
and you hope to knock your opponent out
and
that's not going to be easy watching is it
no it's not
I did it the other night
and he was sparring
and
I was agitated all night
and I was in
I was in a pretty prickly mood all night
and then I went
oh look I'm sorry
I just
it is
this is the why
because I don't like seeing you get hit mate
I don't
I don't want to see you get hit
so don't show me how tough you are
I said I love the fact
you want to show me how tough you are
I love the bravado
but show me how good you are
I prefer
I prefer to see how good you are
than how tough you are
I know you're tough
that
that's
that's
I don't want to see that shit
I want to see you
I want to see how good you are
I want to see how skillful you are
hitting and not getting hit
is the art of boxing
I want to raise him to be a boxer
not a brawler
but he's going to have to be a brawler
at certain stages
but yeah
it's like you mate
like I
if
I used to get nervous
when my boy was on the footy field
when he was
8, 9, 10, 11 years old
so I couldn't imagine
how nerve wracking it would be
seeing him against your boy
if you were watching your boy
and you watch your boy
in against
big, strong, explosive, powerful men
you know
it's
yeah it's not easy
seeing your kids
and it kind of
particularly
combat sport
goes against
every parental instinct
that you have
yeah and you can't
I suppose as you said Dave
you stand in his way
you're not
being the parent you want to be
either A
if he's got a passion for it
you have to
be on the journey
do you coach him
will you outsource that
will you let someone else
jump in
and do that
I'm training him
at the moment
and that's what it was
you said
am I
am I
curious
so last night I was up
and writing down
all the strength
and conditioning
exercises that I've done
in my career
that I've learned off
my strength and conditioning team
that I've had over two different
strength and conditioning teams
in my career
so I was writing
all the exercises
that I've done
and then my mom was going
right well I can do this
and I can put all of them
into body parts
what exercise works
what body parts
and then write a whole list
and a whole program
it's going to take me
a long time
but I've started the process
and once I start
hopefully I'll get it done
and finish it
but yeah I'm curious
because then I started
looking at googling things
and going well Faraday
can do this
and this
and this
and this
just so I can try
and as a father
but as a coach
it's difficult
you'll understand this Luke
as a father
I tell him
we have our blow ups
in the gym
and I say mate
I'm not your father
in this instance
I'm your coach
and you will not talk
to me that way
as your father
because you know
boys and men
young blokes
and fathers
they get pretty heated
I said would you talk
that way to Pat
my old coach
I said would you behave
that way
and would you speak
that way to Pat
ever
and he said no
I said well the same
applies to me
I'm your coach in here
I'm not your father
and I'll talk to you
as a fighter
I won't talk to you
as my son
and that's the way
it's got to be
so it's a different dynamic
and we're working
our way through it
and obviously
there's been some
great success stories
with fathers and sons
and there's been
some horrid stories as well
hopefully as is
the first one
a success
but it's early days
and I'm really enjoying it
but the main thing is
we get to spend
so much quality time together
and for me as a father
to be able
to pass on
the skill of fighting
and be able to protect
and defend himself
and to make him
because I said to him
when they were very early
both our kids
being strong
and able
in this household
is non-negotiable
you're going to be
you're going to work
you're going to train
you're going to build
your body up
to be strong
and resilient
and that's going to build
this to be strong
and resilient
and that's non-negotiable
and whatever you want
to do with it
you can do it
so our daughter
she was a very successful
swimmer
she was a three-time
national 10km
open water champion
and now Archie's
he's going
into a sport
so we'll see
but yeah
it's difficult
as a father
as you know
watching your kids
play a sport
particularly when you see
an opening
where they could take
or you see
someone's on the
out on the flank
and you could have
passed it there
he doesn't do it
because you know
we're experts
we know everything
from the sidelines
yeah you don't make
a mistake from
the 10th row back
as I've found out
in recent times
hey Dan
let me ask you this
who's been the greatest
leader in your life?
my father
yeah my father
my father Malcolm
without doubt
no he was
he was my footy coach
when we were young
from the age of 9
until I was 17
we won three premierships
14s, 15s and 17s
and only junior footy
and I was
I was the smallest guy
I was a four
the only place
the only place she could
hide me was on the
four pocket
and occasionally
I'd get a crumb
every now and then
and yeah but
we were
not one of us
in our team
we played against
guys at you know
17s grand final
Daniel Sirikowski
David Sirikowski
and Daniel Souther
and then
Mark Miranda
as well
I think played in the team
we played against
in the grand final
so you know
really good footballers
but in our team
not one person played
reserves footy
a couple guys
played a few games
of Colts
we were ordinary
players
but we were a fantastic unit
so for instance
this will make you smile
my old man was
he loved his footy
he was a good football
in the bush
when he played
and then
he loved coaching
and he was a really
really good
he knew how to get
the best out of young blokes
and he was a dad
he was a coach
who'd go and
pick up and drop off
boys who couldn't
make it to training
or his old man
wasn't present in their life
and they all keep in touch
with me to this day
saying your old man
was just so good to me
you don't realise
how much of an impact
he had on my young life
and so that makes me
very proud
but on the way
to our grand final
the 17th grand final
we played at Claremont Oval
and they were already
on the ground
so we'd organise
to meet at our home ground
where we played
we all go there
we all go in our gear
we all train
and warm up there before
we all get in a bus
and we drive to the venue
on the bus
when the bus got there
it got there like
five minutes before
the game started
we ran straight off the bus
onto the oval
did a few laps
a few warm ups
bang
so I went
and we kicked the first goal
and hit the ground running
so his idea was
let's rattle them
let's rattle them
no one knew where we were
they thought we'd gone
to the other ground
because there was not
one person from our team
at the oval
and there was five
one of my favourite
ever teammates
he came over
and was doing stuff
at a level
we hadn't seen before
and he was
he was
he was
instead of the end of season trip
he'd be off
you know
in
you know
the last pygmy tribe
somewhere in
wherever they are in the world
and he was an adventure
and a tough guy too
Danny Southern
he's the bloke
you want on your team
oh big time
he wanted to stand
alongside Danny Southern
but a brilliant guy
and he's back in Perth
and going
beautifully
we love the idea
of collaboration
in the world we are Danny
in this leadership space
called a leader
have you ever thought about
someone you'd like
to collaborate with
whether it was
from the world of boxing
or
someone you thought
you know
another area of your life
that a name springs out
you've gone
that's someone I'd love
to spend some time with
too many to name
look
too many to name
there's a lot of really good people
out there
doing some really good things
that have got
that would have a massive
impact on my life
yeah there's so many people
I couldn't name
I couldn't name them
off the top of my head
there's just so many people
that have been
and I don't rate success
as being
you know
loaded or winning
premierships
I rate success
as being a good bloke
and having good people
around you
that's what I rate as success
so there's so many people
out there like that
and as you have
mate
you're in a massive industry
you have met
come across
so many good people
I guess one bloke
and it's probably
it's not going to happen
but you know
David Goggins
is the guy
you know
he's the guy
I'd love to just
sit down
and spend
20 minutes with
and my son
just spend 20 minutes
with him
and just go
whoa
that guy
I tell my boys
he's actually like
you know
you watch the
the Marvel movies
and the Transformers
he's like a real life
one of those
he's actually the real deal
my three boys
are obsessed with that
I don't know
his work as well
but that's the one
on their list
why so special
about him
what's
tell me more
about David Goggins
just
I think he's
what he
how he pushes
his mind
so he obviously
pushes his body
to limits
that not many
there's only very few
people could ever do
but then
his mind
so his mind
pushes the whole thing
so his mind
is
it's
I think it's
it's airtight
it's like
you can't
you couldn't
you just couldn't
penetrate his mind
and to be that strong
and to have that much
resilience
and to be so bold
but to continue
walking the walk
not just talking
like he can give up now
with what he's done
and continue to
talk the talk
forever
and everyone would go
you know
you're the messiah
but he continues
to walk the walk
so he's leading
by example
so he's a true leader
and so
you
Danny Green
I've always
been inspired by you
and the person you are
and even listening today
going back to the values
and how grateful you are
for everything
in your life
and continually doing
outstanding things
and you know
I look back at
you changing the whole
narrative around
what it means
for young people
to think about
the violence on the street
but also being able
to articulate
as you have today
it's important for young boys
to grow up
and understand
that side of themselves
and we
you know
we've got a
strong conversation
to have on that
I always love
bumping into you
Danny
it's always been inspiring
and thanks for taking
the time today
mate I really appreciate it
likewise Luke
thanks mate
it's been a long time mate
and you've always been
a great supporter of mine
and yeah
you're the real deal mate
you're the genuine
up and down bloke
and thanks very much
for having me on
thanks for the support
you've shown me
over my career
I really appreciate it too mate
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