Boxer Danny Green has weighed in on the debate about alcohol-fuelled violence with a TV commercial.
Real men don't fight. Real men walk away.
That's
the message from former world champion boxer Danny Green in a
self-funded TV commercial deploring the "coward punch" violence that
felled 18-year-old Sydney man Daniel Christie.Mr Christie had his life support switched off on Saturday after taking a single punch in Sydney's Kings Cross entertainment precinct on New Year's Eve.
In the ad, Green is seen stopping a youth from punching another person from behind after he accidentally spills his beer on him in a bar.
"Take it from me, one punch can be lethal," said the boxer.
Green, 40, made the commercial in 2012 after a youth from his home town of Perth died in similar circumstances.
The boxer said he hoped all Australians would get behind the initiative because "enough is enough".
He said the case of Mr Christie, who was allegedly punched by 25-year-old labourer and self-proclaimed martial arts fighter Shaun McNeil, shows the "one-punch" phenomenon is a growing problem.
"Going outside and just senselessly punching someone for absolutely no reason ... is a cowardly, gutless horrible act," Green told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
"What a real man does is walk away and defuse the situation with his mouth."
He said his career as a boxer had taught him the importance of self-control and discipline, rather than senseless violence.
"We know all too well the consequences and dangers of what we can actually do to someone," Green said.
"Doesn't matter whether you're a trained fighter or not, I think it's more to do with respect.
"My message is to try and get to the youth and try and get rid of this horrible culture."
Green is the former WBC Super Middleweight Champion, WBA Light Heavyweight Champion and two-time IBO Cruiserweight Champion.
