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Boxer's story packs a punch

Two former world boxing champions came together in Perth this week when Danny Green and Hall of Famer Azumah Nelson swapped war stories.

Ghanaian great Nelson tried to reignite Green's competitive juices when he told him: "You should still be fighting."

Green, who has not fought since defeating Shane Cameron in November 2012, is still to officially decide on his boxing future, although the chances of the 41-year-old lacing up the gloves again are slim.

"Maybe if someone wants to set up a big fight in Las Vegas, I'm up for that," Green said with a grin.

It was in Vegas in 1991 that Nelson had the first of two epic battles with Aussie boxing royalty Jeff Fenech, who would later train Green.

Nelson was awarded a controversial draw in that WBC super-featherweight title bout. But he silenced the critics by knocking out Fenech in their rematch in Melbourne eight months later.

The man regularly hailed as Africa's greatest fighter is in WA to promote his biography The Professor - The Life Story of Azumah Nelson, written by Perth-based Ashley Morrison.

Profits from sales will go to the Azumah Nelson Foundation, which helps orphans and underprivileged children in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

"I think people will enjoy the book, it tells what I went through to become a champion," Nelson said.

Despite battling some of the greatest "small" men of the 1980s and early 90s, including Salvador Sanchez, Wilfredo Gomez, Pernell Whittaker and Fenech, it was a fight that never took place that often gets mentioned to Nelson.

"Barry McGuigan - he told me years later he would never fight me," Nelson said. "But we are friends now. Remember, this is a business."

This week's meeting took place at the West Aussie's Green Zone Fitness gym in Warwick, where Green was happy to share the limelight.

"It's a pleasure to meet someone like Azumah, a real legend of the game," Green said.