By Mark Staniforth
You might expect the name of Dave 'Boy' Green to barely make a footnote in the glittering life story of Sugar Ray Leonard, a five-weight world champion and one of the most iconic fighters who ever lived.
Green was a rough-and-tumble welterweight from Chatteris whose strong heart secured him world title shots against Carlos Palomino in London in 1977, and Leonard in Landover, Maryland three years later.
Leonard was approaching the peak of his powers when he faced Green. He had dazzled in wresting the WBC title from Wilfred Benitez four months earlier, and saw Green as a low-key, keep-busy ahead of some epic contests to come.
Though not in Leonard's league, Green was a legitimate contender. Prior to a valiant 11th-round defeat to Palomino, Green had won 24 straight fights, including a win over John H Stracey, whom Palomino had also beaten to take the crown.
This is not the story of a sensational upset. Leonard, already well on the way to securing the start of his sensational rivalry with Roberto Duran, duly dispatched Green in round four, and there you would have expected the story to end.
But in his autobiography, 'Sugar Ray Leonard: The Big Fight', which is published in paperback in the UK next month, Leonard has revealed why his fight with Green remains at the forefront of his mind.
Green was the only Briton Leonard faced in the course of his stellar career, and Leonard says he saved for him the best punch of his entire career: a short left hook which chopped Green to the canvas where he was counted out.
"It was perhaps the most beautiful punch I ever threw," writes Leonard. "Whenever I connected with such power and precision, a tingling sensation similar to an electric shock travelled directly from my hand to my shoulder.
"It was a tremendous feeling, and one every fighter experiences when he lands the perfect shot. The world has no choice but to stop and acknowledge his work. I raised my hands and stood in admiration, as any artist would."
Yet Leonard has also revealed his 'perfect punch' moment was tempered by a frightening few moments when he convinced himself his opponent might not recover: a chill that stayed with him for the remainder of his career.
"Seconds went by that seemed like hours, my thoughts racing to the worst of possibilities ... all I could think about when I walked down the aisle was how close I had come to killing another human being."
Green, needless to say, recovered fully, rebounding from the Leonard loss with four straight victories back home in London, before retiring at the age of just 28 after a loss to Reggie Ford in November 1981.
Although a world title had eluded him, Green had made the most of his relatively modest talents, and come to accept the fact it was simply his own hard luck he fought in one of the finest welterweight eras of all time.
In an interview with the Eastside Boxing website in 2008, Green said: "My goal was to win a Southern Area title in Britain. I far exceeded what I thought I would do. I got two shots at a world title.
"My manager Andy Smith suggested it (retirement). He said out there is Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benitez and Roberto Duran. He told me to get out and do something. At the time I didn't think he was right, but he cared about me."
Green reaped the benefits of his decision. He became a successful businessman and hooked up with both Palomino and Leonard in later years, welcoming both to dinner during visits to Britain.
Clearly Leonard had forgiven Green for the Englishman's tactic to trying to dent the American's famous poise prior to the contest. As tactics go, it proved to be spectacularly ill-judged.
"I wasn't as motivated as usual as I listened to the referee's pre-fight instructions," adds Leonard.
"I got pumped up in a hurry, though, thanks to Green's worst move of the night. He got right in my face and bumped me.
"I didn't just want to beat Davey 'Boy' Green. I wanted to teach him a lesson."
Mark Staniforth covers boxing for Press Association Sport
