As Roy Jones Jnr slumped, seemingly gone, against those ring ropes inside Sydney’s Acer Arena, the kid could scarcely believe it.
Still can’t.
“Oh, mate, insane,” Jack Della Maddalena grins, recalling that afternoon Danny Green went and scored one of the greatest upsets in Australian boxing history.
“I mean, this was Roy Jones Jnr.
“And Greeny, he dispatched him within a round…”
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At the time, JDM was 12.
A promising schoolboy rugby star who, still two years away from taking up boxing, was also four years shy of even entering his first MMA gym.
So as for one day doing what he had just seen?
Nah, the kid had no clue.
Yet still, here we are.
Now 16 years after Green upset one of America’s greatest ever fighters, 28-year-old ‘Della’ is now seeking his own world title boilover in Sunday’s UFC 315 blockbuster against Belal Muhammad.
Currently on a tear stretching 17 straight fights, Maddalena will look to create national sporting history when he throws down against Muhammad, the UFC welterweight champ, who is himself without defeat since 2019.
Should the Perth native win, it will be the first time in UFC history that two Australians have held titles simultaneously, with Alexander Volkanovski having also recently reclaimed his featherweight crown.
JDM to expose Belal’s unknown weakness? | 04:29
Better, it will catapult JDM up and onto a list of Australia’s top combat stars – joining the likes of Jai Opetaia, Tim Tszyu and Volkanovski, the latter of whom has also been a key part of his world title fight camp.
And now speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week from Montreal, Canada, Maddalena has revealed that in preparation for this biggest fight of his career, he has been drawing inspiration from Green’s famed 2009 win over Jones Jnr.
Currently, the title challenger is a $2.85 TAB outsider, but has been wider than three bucks.
Muhammad, meanwhile, has been wound in to only $1.42.
Still, Della is finding strength in the fact fellow Perth boy Greeny was as wide as $7 with some oddsmakers when he went and upset Jones with a first round finish as swift as it was unexpected.
“Growing up, I was a big Danny Green fan,” Maddalena recalled this week from inside fight camp.
“Being from Perth, dad took me to a few of his fights, starting with that (WBA light heavyweight) world title win over Stipe Drews.
“I can still see Greeny coming up to Land Down Under, the crowd going insane.
“And from that first night, I was hooked.
“Greeny was effectively my introduction to combat sports and so, being from the same hometown too, he’s always been a real big inspiration for me.”
More recently, Maddalena said the pair have met up a few times and even trained together
“And Greeny had all the time in the world for me,” he said.
“We chatted about sport, life … have chatted here and there a few times since, too.
“The guy is an absolute legend.”
So as for how it feels to now be on the cusp of your own title upset?
“It’s surreal,” the fighter continued.
“But I’m also ready to live up to the challenge.
“I feel my future, it lays in my hands … and my hands only.”
Elsewhere, Maddalena also revealed the importance Volkanovski has played in preparations for Sunday’s blockbuster, with the fighter having recently travelled across the country to spend time at the champ’s Windang gym.
During their time together, Volk was also readying for his own April title bout against Diego Lopes, where he eventually reclaimed UFC featherweight gold via decision.
“And during that time training, we did chat about Australia having two champions,” JDM recounted.
“We both knew what was at stake, what a big spot Australian MMA is in …”
Importantly, Maddalena also stressed he took far more from his time with Volkanovski than just tips for beating Muhammad.
JDM puts grappling champion to sleep! | 00:18
“Obviously Volk has a lot of championship experience and I was trying to pick his brain on all sorts of stuff,” he continued.
“Previously, I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time with Volk so I already know what he’s like, how he prepares
“But every new minute I spend with Volk, I’m learning.
“The guy’s an inspiration, a role model.
“Everyone wants to learn from the best and, in my opinion – in a lot of people’s opinions – Alexander Volkanovski is the best.”
Soon after, he added: “Even as a fan, just being in the room watching how Volk prepares for a big fight is awesome.
“Seeing how he carries himself outside the Octagon, how he looks after his team … he’s a champion through and through.”
So as for you both holding gold straps at the same time?
“To have eight UFC weight classes for males, and two of them with Australian champions … that would be pretty sick,” Maddalena grinned.
“And with events coming back to Australia at the end of this year, how surreal to have two of us defending belts on the same card?
“That would be a huge moment for our sport.”
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