BoxRec

Danny Green's promotional company is negotiating for world-wide television rights in a bid for Perth to host the WA fighter's World Boxing Council super-middleweight title fight against German Markus Beyer.

Green's lifelong friend, Justin Manolikos, 31, who heads Green Machine Promotions, says gaining the right TV deal is critical to the bid, which will cost from $US2 million ($2.725 million) to $US3 million.

Manolikos, of Scarborough, will liaise with US, Europe and Australian TV production companies in his bid for a fight in late January or early February.

Yesterday, he faxed a letter to the WBC at its Mexico City headquarters asking for details about the bid, including the deadline.

"I expect to hear from the WBC within a week," Manolikos said yesterday.

"The deadline may be a couple of weeks later."

It is necessary for the successful bidder to pay a 10 per cent deposit to the WBC within a week of being notified of its success.

Manolikos will contact the German's promoters within a week to discuss the venue and other arrangements.

If the two parties then disagree, the highest bidder to the WBC will win the right to hold the fight.

Challenge Stadium and Burswood Dome are the two favoured venues, though if the promoters decided to hold it outdoors, Members Equity Stadium would be under consideration.

Manolikos, a chartered accountant, and Green have been close friends since they were nine-year-old schoolboys. For a decade they played in the same team at the Marist Junior Football Club in Churchlands.

Green's father, Malcolm, was the team coach, and Manolikos' father, Louis, was assistant coach and manager.

"We won four premierships together," Manolikos said.

Green's brother, Brendan, who played 115 WAFL league games with Claremont, started training off-season with prominent local boxing trainer Pat Devellerez.

Green and Manolikos then started training with Devellerez.

Danny Green continued to develop in the ring, with his career followed closely by his friend "Molly".

"I went to a lot of Dan's amateur bouts and travelled up to Kuala Lumpur to watch him at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and then to the Sydney Olympics," he said.

Green turned professional after the Sydney Olympics and Manolikos wanted to help him.

So with local TV-video expert Rob Brady, businessman Mick Pember, businesswoman Pauline Wilson and prominent sports management agent Wayne Loxley, Green Machine Promotions was formed.

"It is our aim to give Dan a career after boxing," Manolikos said.

"Dan had been approached by different people who wanted to promote his fights. We then got talking and said 'why don't we promote it ourselves?'.

"With the five of us we had a team which we believed covered the different aspects needed in regards to marketing, beverage and merchandise, television and video, and sponsorship.

"And with me handling the financial aspects, we believed that we had a team that could put together a good event."

Regarding Wilson, who has helped organise the Golden Gloves programs, Manolikos said: "We need a woman's touch."