by David P. Greisman

Former light heavyweight titleholder and cruiserweight contender Danny Green will likely retire soon unless a bout comes his way that would be worth staying in the sport, according to Adelaide, Australia, newspaper The Advertiser.

“I want to be in charge of my family and protect my family when I’m older,” the 40-year-old told the newspaper.

Later, he said: “If that means sacrificing a couple more years in the sport I love and I’ve been successful in … if it’s detrimental to me, it has to happen.”

He turned pro in 2001 as a super middleweight, challenging Markus Beyer for a world title two years later but losing via disqualification for what BoxRec.com said was an intentional head butt. He lost a rematch to Beyer via majority decision in 2005.

In 2007, he won a belt at 175 pounds with a win over Stipe Drews. That was his last bout for 16 months. He came back in 2009 as a cruiserweight and soon held the fringe International Boxing Organization’s title. He defended it successfully four times, including a first-round knockout of Roy Jones and a unanimous decision over BJ Flores. He got stopped by Antonio Tarver in July 2011, then got stopped again by titleholder Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in November 2011.

Green fought twice last year, scoring a technical knockout of Danny Santiago and then outpointing Shane Cameron to bring his record to 33-5 with 28 knockouts.

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com