IN THE SHADOWS Jamaica's Joe Greene is undefeated yet lacks publicity and a promoter

&#8220Mean” Joe Greene is the farthest thing from the stereotypical top-flight boxing prospect. He speaks in soft tones, travels without an entourage, and rarely appears in newspapers or on television. He never fought on any of the local Broadway boxing cards, the monthly shows pitting up-and-coming city prospects against seasoned opponents. In the media-crazy 21st century, he's an oddity - a hard-working and humble undefeated super middleweight without a promoter.
Trained by his father, Joe Greene Sr., Greene, 20, does have one made-for-television storyline. His father signed him up at Gallagher's Gym in Jamaica at the age of eight when neighborhood bullies were chasing him around the neighborhood. &#8220I used to get into fights with kids on the block all the time,” he confirmed, &#8220and that's what put me into boxing.”
Ever since, he's been attached to the sport, winning junior and amateur titles. He turned pro a year-and-a-half ago, winning impressively each time out. But that vast experience, his 14 years of training and sparring and refining his craft as a powerfully electric 5-foot-9 southpaw, has also created problems. Countless fighters and their promoters have cancelled fights with Greene, who will fight next on the undercard of the John Duddy-Luis Ramon Campas fight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden September 29, after they investigate his fighting history.
&#8220Matchmakers run into the problem all the time,” said Jim Borzell, president of Irish Ropes Productions, who is handling the fight at the Garden. It's the second time Greene will fight on an Irish Ropes card. &#8220He's difficult to get a fight for because he's had such an extensive amateur career, and has flattened many of the up-and-coming guys. They're afraid to fight him and he's not afraid to fight anybody. They get suspicious of a guy who's 11-0 and up to the challenge to fight anybody who wants to come in his direction.”
Part of the reason, Borzell says, is because Greene is a &#8220homerun hitter, to put it in baseball terms. You can have a good battle going on with him and then he hits this homerun, quite simply. He's a one-punch knockout artist.”
The time is coming, it could be right around the corner, when Greene will hook up with a promoter. The lack of representation is a chief reason he isn't too well known. But that's not why the resolute August Martin graduate wants a promoter. To Greene, the glitz, the glamour, the fanfare, all of it, is just a byproduct of success. He has dreams of world title belts. Newspaper clippings and televised bouts won't make or break him. Fame will eventually arrive. &#8220I just think when it's my time to shine, then it's my time,” he said.
Greene doesn't care to bash any of the stars of Broadway Boxing, like a Jaidon Codrington or Curtis Stevens, talented local products who recently absorbed their first losses after much-hyped starts. Greene grew up in the boxing game with them, and still spars with them. Fame, or lack thereof, doesn't concern him. &#8220I'm just focused on what I have to do in boxing,” Greene said.
Thus far in his burgeoning career, he's on the right track. Greene Sr. and Jack Stanton, his manager, have resisted the urge to rush him, having Greene fight on lesser cards out of the spotlight of live television cameras.
A hard-working local kid who lives at home, Greene thinks highly of himself, seeing world titles and lots of money coming his way. Yet he acknowledges he can be beaten. &#8220I'm not different than anybody else,” he said.
Unlike the Broadway boxing fighters, Greene has faced legitimate competition. He dispatched the highly respected Craig Robinson (7-2, 6 KOs) in three rounds in September of 2005, and earned a unanimous decision over the well-traveled Derrick Graham (12-8). He's also proven to have a strong jaw, an attribute which betrayed Codrington and Stevens in their losses. &#8220I guess it's just something I have,” he said. &#8220You take it and you want to come right back.”