(Independent-UK) Steve Bunce - Roman Greenberg was 10 when he arrived in Tel Aviv from Russia with his mum, dad, and younger brother. At 14, Greenberg found his way to one of the anonymous little boxing gyms in Israel. He won silver medals at the European Cadet Championships in Macedonia in 1997 and the European Junior Championships in Latvia the following year. In 2000, he won another silver medal in Budapest for the World Junior Championships. After meeting Robert Waterman, a British boxing promoter, Greenberg relocated to Finchley and turned professional at age 19. "Max Baer was the last [Jewish] heavyweight champion of the world and that was for about five minutes 70 years ago," Waterman admits. In 2003, Greenberg fought eight times and stopped or knocked out all of his opponents with a casual ease that separates dumb heavyweights from real prospects.
2003-12-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive