Ian Green is living his own movie. One he hopes to write and produce one day.
Green, age 30, is a top-rated middleweight. Yet, no fault of his own, he is struggling to get a fight. He beat Tyler ‘Herc’ Howard on a Top Rank card in 2021 and fought an undefeated fighter in Alexander Castro last year. In that fight, he suffered a head clash but still won. He recently stopped tough veteran Vaughn Alexander and defeated a tough journeyman in Anthony Lenk. Yet, the number-seven-ranked middleweight in the WBA is still waiting for his moment.
Green has paid the cost to be where he is at. Now, he is looking to reap the benefits of a long, hard road. The two-loss fighter, who holds a record of 18 wins and two defeats, is an 80s fighter in the internet world. He wants the best, but the best in his division simply don’t fight. Jermall Charlo hasn’t defended his WBC middleweight title since 2021. Erislandy Lara didn’t fight in 2023 as the WBA middleweight world champion. Michael Zerafa, the number one contender in his division, stated on ThaBoxingVoice that he was bound to fight on the Erislandy Lara-Danny Garcia card, which disappeared.
Green stays positive as he has faced more challenging hurdles in life.
“Don’t let a loss define you,” said Green. “When I had a loss, I had everything I needed. I had a manager, and I had my parents alive. I had to really suffer losses to understand what I had then.”
Green’s mother was his rock. Lorie Brown softened the blow of his 46-year-old father, Ian Green Sr., who sadly passed away from cancer. Brown tragically died at 53 years old in July 2019. The cause was a freak car accident.
“I always had my mom to soften the blow for me. She was there for me every step of the way for losing my dad,” said Green, reflecting on his tragic losses. “Three years later, I lost her in a crazy accident. I was able to brace for my dad. My dad had cancer. Me and my dad had conversations on his deathbed. The transition wasn’t as hard; he prepared me for it, and my mom prepared me for it. But with my mom, it was, I talked to her one night, and she was gone the next. It was something I couldn’t brace for.”
From 2017 to 2020, Green was inactive. He had taken two losses. He was stopped by Kemahl Russell, standing, which he pointed out. He returned on Halloween of 2020 in Mexico. Since then, he has gone undefeated, facing a slew of top contenders and tough regional journeymen.
“My mom died, and I was [out of the ring] for three years. No one wanted to help me…so I thought, let me get a fight in Mexico to get my career back on the right track. That is symbolic of what I am trying to say – take the first step.”
Yet, the only promoter interested in him was Don King Promotions. Green explains why he signed with King after defeating unbeaten Tyler Howard.
“[Don King] was the only guy who was interested, and he gave me an opportunity. It isn’t what people say it is really on paper. Everything was right on paper. So far, he has lived up to what he promised, and I appreciate people who appreciate me. I’d rather be somewhere, even though people aren’t the big fans of [Don King], he appreciates me for who I am rather than a huge promotional company like PBC where 80% of their fighters aren’t even fighting that are up-and-coming. If I was with PBC, I would probably be shelved for a while. They only focus on their big-name fighters.”
Now, his motivation is his own movie. His hardship, adversities, and struggles are the crux of his being the protagonist in his own film. Green reflects that his sorrow and hardship weren’t for nothing. Green is the starring role in a film he foresees as a gateway to help others. For those who are down in the dumps, sad, lost – it is a real-life story of someone who lost so much but refused to be beat down by life.
“The thing that motivates me is that it isn’t here yet. The movie that motivates me is my movie that I am going to write and produce when I become a world champion. I could picture it and see someone watching my story. What I have been going through and stuff like that and being really motivated. I watch that movie in my head all the time. That motivates me. I want to make that movie and what I imagine into reality. That movie helps me get up and do what I got to do because I know I am 150% sure that movie will save lives.”
Green’s interview had an undertone of not wanting others to feel the pain he felt. It almost felt like the extreme circumstances of his life had placed him in a position in which he wished to protect those from the pain. His end goal – art and a movie. Rarely do you hear a boxer state that they want something composed from their career with artistry. Green didn’t bring up flash or expensive items. Instead, he wants his life to be made into a movie to help others.
Still, Green has one goal. That is getting to a world title. Given the stagnation of the division, that seems to be a challenge to be had.
“For me, I can just fight the top contenders; that is all I can do,” said Green. “It is what it is. I am not in their shoes to understand what they are doing. I just know what I am trying to do…and that is more motivation, knowing it is hard to even get the opportunity. So when you finally do get the opportunity, you got to take full advantage because you might not get a chance to fight for a world title for another two to three years, especially in this division.”
His end goal is to do what he feels is lacking in boxing: face the contenders like himself.
“I look at Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, and even Andre Ward, and I want to bring [the middleweight division] it back to the B-Hop days where he was the undisputed champion, fighting all the contenders defending his belts. The Roy Jones days. That’s what I want to do.”
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