Danny Green-Roy Jones Jr. heating up

The only thing standing in the way of that long-awaited, long-overdue rematch between Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins in 2010 is the December 2 fight between Jones and Danny Green in Sydney, Australia, and that fight is now heating up in the Aussie press.

Yesterday, Jones said he would have preferred to skip out on the bout:

''I'm in a very difficult situation. I respect Green. I know we signed and I thought maybe I should just pull out. But I can't deny Danny. This is one of the biggest fights in the history of his country. This is how it is. So I'll give him the biggest fight in his country and that will get me ready for Hopkins and the biggest fight in my country. I'd rather let the Green fight go, but I'm a man of my word. It wouldn't be fair to back out.''

Despite Roy's declaration of respect for Danny Green, the Australian wasn't so kind:

"I can see it, I have this recurring vision that I've got and haven't had this feeling for a long time. I can envisage an earlier than 12th round stoppage by myself against Roy Jones Jr. Knocking Roy Jones out is going to put me right at the top of the mountain and to beat him in the form he's in is going to make it more of an achievement. The respect's gone, it's in the past. The bloke's coming to knock me out and that's a very personal thing to do in front of my family and friends."

Jones responded:

"It all depends on how Danny comes out there. If he's going to hit me hard as hell early, because I know he's strong, he's quick, it'll piss me off and from there, there we go. Danny brings what he brings but I don't think he will see the 12th round."

Jones is also talking about being "world champion" in a fifth division, since Green will be putting up the IBO cruiserweight title he was awarded for beating Julio Cesar Dominguez on the Jones-Lacy undercard in August. The IBO title isn't really a recognized major title at all (though to be fair, I think I agree with their philosophies on ranking fighters a lot more than I do any other sanctioning body's), and it's a hollow cruiserweight title at best should he win.

For the record, Green is a former super middleweight contender and light heavyweight titlist, and I think the IBO cruiser strap was put on the line against Dominguez simply so that if and when Green-Jones came about, Jones could be fighting for a title in another division. Green weighed a shade under 180 for the fight, and I don't expect either man to come in much over their more natural 175 pounds for their December fight.

There's still been no official word on whether or not Green-Jones will be another small Jones pay-per-view in the States, as it would take place on a Wednesday in Australia, which is the day of most of the big Aussie fights. It'd seem a waste to not try and bleed some American money out of this, even though they'll both be making a good chunk of change in what should be one of the biggest fights ever on Australian soil.