Ward-Green: Andre "Son of God" Ward Will Trump Allan "Thor" Green

American super middleweight contender Allan “Thor” Green has replaced Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor in Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament. Green is scheduled to fight current WBA world super middleweight champion Andre “Son of God” Ward on April 17 in Oakland.

Taylor, 31, a former undisputed middleweight champion who captured the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, announced earlier this month that he was temporarily retiring from boxing because of the way he was viciously brutalized in four of his last five matchups.

Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs) was knocked unconscious by “King” Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) in the 12th round of their contest on October 17 at the O2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany.

In the aftermath of Taylor’s scary loss to Abraham, “Bad Intentions” was urged by his friends, family, and colleagues to take an indefinite leave of absence from prizefighting.

Taylor’s promoter, Lou DiBella, honorably resigned from working with the native of Arkansas due to concerns over his health.

“It wasn’t like it was planned for Allan to take over for Jermain,” said DiBella, 49, a graduate of Tufts University and Harvard Law School.

“Had we not had the tournament available for us, we were in consideration to fight titleholder Lucian Brute in April. Allan would have had other opportunities. That said, I think Allan is the right guy for the spot.”

DiBella praised Green’s punching power and stated that “Thor” will always have a chance to win because of the immense power he possesses in his fists.

“He has that Mighty Thor tattooed on his arm because he’s a big puncher and carries the hammer of Thor,” said DiBella of Green (28-1, 20 KOs), who broke Mike Tyson’s longstanding eight-second knockout record during the 2002 Golden Gloves tournament.

“He’s a big puncher and that’s his great equalizer. Ward is a tremendously talented boxer but if you get hit flush by Green, you’re going to have problems, and I think that will be a real issue for Andre. That will make it an interesting fight.”

Before he withdrew from the tournament, Taylor had not amassed a single point in the competition.

Therefore, because Green has been tabbed to supplant Taylor, “Thor” will inherit “Bad Intention’s” non-existent point total.

The tournament, which was designed to establish who the best boxer in the super middleweight division is, stipulates that a fighter earns two points for a win, a third point if they win by knockout, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss.

Once all pugilists have competed three times, the points are tallied and the four fighters with the most points advance to the semifinals.

“Green has a disadvantage, but he has that great ability to get the points in any fight as well as anyone in the tournament outside of Abraham,” said DiBella. “It’s up to him to take advantage of that opportunity.”

Green, 30, is a solid boxer and he can’t be taken lightly, primarily because of his noted strength.

Nevertheless, Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), the winner of the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, is an extraordinary skilled prizefighter who should manage to prevail over Green with a resounding unanimous decision victory.

“Ward is really good,” said Brad Sherwood, a personal trainer at Gold Gym in Medford. “Plus, he was born in San Fran and he’s fighting Green in his hometown of Oakland. Green has a puncher’s shot. But, that’s about it.”

In an exciting, but relatively lopsided matchup, “The Son of God” will trump “Thor” in the Bay Area this spring.

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