AFL's Barry Hall on Green vs Roy Jones Jnr card.

AFL's Barry Hall on Danny Green vs Roy Jones Jnr card?

As much as Barry Hall seems intent on continuing his AFL career, many think it's all but over. Swan's coach Paul Roos seems to have had enough of him, and at 33 it's unlikely any other club would look at him, particularly with his suspension record.

Assuming the Green v Jones Jnr card goes ahead, and probably also assuming that it's held in Melbourne, how good a fit is Barry Hall in a preliminary bout?

Barry Hall has an extensive junior boxing background. Has openly stated on many occassions he'd like to box. Trained recently with none other than Danny Green, and is rated by Johnny Lewis as an exceptional prospect.

Hall could play a similar role to Sonny Bill Williams on the Mundine v Geale card, only Hall can actually box!

A long-shot yes, but this could actually come to fruition IMO.

 

A few issues raised so far:

IMO Hall is not in any way likely to 'steal' a Roy Jones v Green show. He could well enhance the interest. But the Jones hype will be huge, particularly if he arrives early, trains around town etc (hope he doesn't train in Sydney with Mundine's crew).

Green purposefully raised his profile in the Aussie states where he was lesser known by appearing on the Dancing with the Stars TV program and actually encouraged Hall to do the same.

Saw Hall spar with Green. Actually expected more from him. But Green was going easy and seemed to be encouraging Hall's technique rather than bash and crash with him.

Hall's lead-in to a possible appearance (on the possible?, possibly held in Melbourne?) Green v Jones card may not be advanced enough at that stage to take on a quality challenger. Depends how soon he get's clear of his AFL career.

Hall would be entering boxing at 33/34 yrs of age. So he'll need to progress at a steady rate. But at the same time, a couple of early setbacks might mean a short career in the ring. Choosing the correct opponents along the way will be important.

Venue-wise, we've got a stadium for every size of crowd projection, and the people to fill them. The Melbourne Tennis Centre, where I saw Simon & Garfunkel last week, is absolutely made for boxing, but holds 15,000. If the promoters want to price it high they could get 15,000 x $big.

Another likely alternative, again with weather protection, is the Docklands (Etihad) Stadium. It holds 50,000 for footy. But configured for boxing might be set-up for say 35,000. There they could lower some of the ticket pricing and with the right pre-fight build-up, make an absolute truck-load of cash!

 

He's ready. But his lack of control on the footy field is just plain immature for someone of 33!

Angelo Hyder reckons it would only take 6 to 8 weeks to prepare Hall for a professional boxing debut.

"Barry Hall is the best prospect in Australia of any boxer, Olympic qualifiers, Australian amateur champions ?" Hyder said.

"He's a gifted athlete with hand speed equal to Danny Green's. He's got power. There's a whole amount of improvement for power of any athlete I've worked with, not just boxing. He's the best learner. I don't think there would be any problems fighting for a heavyweight world title. Winning one, that would be up to Barry."

 

There've been plenty of prospects previously who've been hyped well beyond their capabilities and come crashing to earth before achieving anything in the ring.

Who really knows at this stage with Hall? The interesting thing in his case though is that the hype is coming from a number of different directions, not all of them with vested interests.

Danny Green was quoted in the Herald Sun a few days ago saying that he/they made Hall a formal offer a while ago (probably at about the time they sparred together). Green must genuinely see potential in him, and he's had the chance to test him at least to some degree in the ring.

Hall undeniably has potential. But how much, and what he can accomplish with it, only time will tell.