Roman doesn’t Rush by Will Hale Dec 17th 2005

Roman Greenberg outpointed American Kendrick Releford over ten fairly uninspiring rounds. The bout on the Haye-Gurov undercard in Bracknell was scored 98-93 but the Finchley-based Israeli appeared to lack shine. Never a body-beautiful type, Greenberg looked fleshy at 16st 101/2lbs. His slightly taller Texan opponent appeared trimmer at 16st 5lbs. Greenberg is a very capable boxer with a decent punch and excellent hand speed. He represents potential big money at the box office as he's a genuinely talented undefeated white heavyweight. However, one feels that there are several areas which need to be improved upon to fulfil his enormous potential. His defences are at times open and too relaxed. Consquently. Releford had his successes with right hands. The American wasn't a big puncher so Greenberg was only in limited danger. In addition, his work-rate is often very lacking. As early as the second round, it was clear that there was no sense of urgency in Roman's work. Releford also turned out to be a laid-back southpaw and the combination of the two styles resulted in only sporadic action. On the positive side, Roman demonstrated his customary hand speed extremely well in the spurts of action. With his hands low, rapid-fire ones and twos whipped home effectively in the third, and in fours and fives later in the seventh. Furthermore, Greenberg knows some tricks of the trade. He raised a glove to the side of his head to try and draw a lead several times in the final third of the fight. Over the last five rounds, the pattern was fairly established. Releford would come passively forward and on occasions get a few shots home. But Roman's better work countering around the ring edges was enough to take a decision. It was a very good win on paper, even if slightly unexciting for the fans. Photos by Karl Stubbs. Copyright 2005. www.karlstubbs.com

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no flash no cash Jan 30th 2006, 16:13:11 by holinst Great article. The problem with Greenberg is that he's totally stuck with the old school that describes boxing as the art of self defence. It may be a great art form and a healthy mental philosophy but by the time a fight of his ends I wonder how many better ways I might have spent the last hour. In the ring Greenberg's style reminds me of nothing so much as a lion tamer keeping a chair between himself and the other guy.