Katie Taylor: Boxer, Star, Hero

The viewing figures won't have been impressive, due to the time difference, but the column inches will.  Katie Taylor is again the champion of the world, Ireland's golden girl, and a beacon of hope for us all in a time of economic gloom.

Ten weeks out from London 2012, she has assured her passage to sport's centrepiece not only as the undisputed No. 1 in her weight division, but also as a sports star with increasing global recognition, and more importantly, undoubted respect.  The next three months promise much for Taylor, but her greatest achievement cannot be quantified in medals or trinkets or trophies or even in the adulation of a nation.

Pic: Irish Sports Art

It's less than three years since it was announced that Taylor, and other women boxers, would have the chance to fight for gold in London and the reaction was mixed, at best.  This article from that time shows that there was opposition, within the sport, and ahead of it's return to the Games (women boxed non-competitively in St. Louis in 1904), I would expect many international news outlets to run pieces asking 'is it right?' and 'should women box?' etc.

But not in Ireland.

Here, Katie Taylor has single-handedly made women's boxing an accepted, if not yet a mainstream sport.  Young girls throughout Ireland lace up in clubs each week, inspired by a bone fide hero, and our collective print and broadcast media are enamoured with the woman that inspired them.  Her qualification for the Games was a lead news story on at least one national radio station this week, and not just in the sports bulletins - it is the same today.  When London arrives, we will watch in great numbers and we will cheer Katie on.  We will hope and pray for gold, and undoubtedly welcome her back from London with a gathering previously only seen for the likes of McGuigan, Roche and our soccer stars.

For all Irish people, Katie has answered the question, 'should women box', with a resounding yes.  She's won that argument as convincingly as most of her fights within the ring.  When her skills are witnessed by the wider world in London, I'd wager that she'll convince many more that the IOC were correct in their decision three years ago, and come 2016 the hubbub will be no more.  It's by no means an achievement to rival that of Emmeline Pankhurst, but for women's sport, London will see another barrier broken, with our own golden girl leading the way.

Joe Frazier RIP

With today’s untimely death of Smokin’ Joe Frazier, sport itself has lost a true warrior, and one of the most fearsome competitors of all-time.  The 67-year-old has passed away after succumbing to liver cancer overnight.

As a fighter, Frazier had it all.  An Olympic Champion in 1964, he could box as well as brawl, a quality which would define much of his later career.  Frazier’s professional record would be impressive with wins over Muhammad Ali, Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavera and Buster Mathis.  His only defeats came twice each to George Foreman and Ali.

Frazier’s battles with ‘The Greatest’ define his career, even though that is something he himself would not be pleased with.  He often spoke of their ongoing animosity, long after their in-ring battles concluded.  Famously, in 1996, after Ali lit the Olympic Torch in Atlanta, Frazier remarked that he wanted to push his rival into the flame.

They first clashed in New York in 1971.  With both men undefeated World Champions at this point, it was the ‘Fight of the Century’ and Frazier would inflict upon Ali the most notable loss of his life, knocking him down in the 15thround en route to a points win.  Ali would win their second contest three years later before the final contest in their trilogy.

The ‘Thrilla in Manila’ is simply 14 rounds of drama.  While Joe Frazier would end up the loser on that balmy morning, above all others this contest would highlight his strongest quality, that enduring spirit.  Even when his eyes were swollen shut, and when his opponent’s jabs would have crushed the will of a weaker man, Frazier kept coming forward and kept fighting on in a brutal war.  Make no mistake; but for the intervention of his trainer Eddie Futch, Frazier would have fought that 15^th round, if given the chance, despite the likely disastrous consequences.  It was the event that would shape his very existence for the next 36 years, and in many ways he came across as bitter as a result, but one must remember the disgusting insults levied at him by his opponent in the previous five years.

Ironically, Muhammad Ali has led the tributes to Frazier today, saying “the world has lost a great champion” and that he will “always remember Joe with respect and admiration.”  All boxing fans will do the same – he may have been the third best heavyweight of his era, but he would have been the very best of most decades, and is likely in the top-ten heavyweights of all-time.

Today’s tributes do not match the outpouring of grief which will likely come when his great rival passes away.  However, that love and respect for Ali might just be due to Frazier.  The Greatest only has that title because he was tested and because he had to overcome so many obstacles, none tougher than the man from Philadelphia.

If Muhammad Ali is “King of the World”, then Joe Frazier did more than anyone else to put that crown upon his head.  It’s not the legacy he wanted, or even one he deserved, but it’s enough to cement his place in boxing folklore forever. 

Nick Charles RIP

Very sad to hear about the passing of Nick Charles.  The 64 year old had been battling cancer for some time, and called off his treatment in January in order to prepare for today.  I saw this video of him, created by his old employers CNN recently, and found it both touching and inspiring.  I hope you do too.

Khan TV Debacle Bizarre At Best, Commercial Fatalism At Worst

I normally post my stuff for thescore.ie on this blog but I didn't get a chance to do so this weekend. As a lot of it is out of date now I shall leave it off here, but I'm told it's well written so head on over there to check it out, after you take a nose at this.

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The twists and turns regarding the televising of Saturday's fight between Amir Khan and Paul McCloskey are likely to be more dramatic than the contest itself. And devastating as a loss this Saturday would be professionally, the events that have occurred in boardrooms over the past dew days would likely be more harmful to his career in the long run.

The fight was initially due to be televised on SKY Box Office, with fans paying around €22 for the privilege of tuning in. However, late last week the plug was pulled on the pay-per-offering after a number of blows to the undercard were deemed fatal to the chances of commercial success.

SKY then intended to show the card on a normal SKY Sports channel, showcasing Khan to a wider audience. However, the Olympic medalist baulked at this situation, as it was set to see him take a pay cut of at least £1 million. (Note - it should be pointed out that Amir Khan insists he has not been involved in any of the negotiations outlined here, which for his own sake I hope is correct. However, given that his representatives have negotiated on his behalf, and that one presumes he could have as much say in the talks as he chooses, I will continue to say the decisions outlined here are his, even if his involvement in the decision-making process is not complete.)

Further protracted negotiations continued, and fans of the sport posited theories that an 'unfortunate' injury was set to spell the end of this seemingly doomed card. It is understood that Khan's contract with SKY specifies his fights are carried on PPV, and that he shunned the chance to promote his skills to a broader audience ahead of an expected contest with Timothy Bradley. In the end, it has been decided that the card will now be broadcast on a PPV basis, albeit by Primetime and not SKY.

One need only look at the recent career of Carl Froch to see the potential problems associated with this. The Nottingham super-middleweight has gone from fighting before audiences of 6 million on ITV to barely 100,000 on the fledgling Primetime network. Lacking the commercial clout of SKY, but still maintaining the pay-per-view option, the financial aspect of Froch's deal are presumably adequate, given that his last three fights have been carried by them. However, there's no denying that the public acclaim that should have come from his performances in the Super Six contest has been notably absent.

Now, Amir Khan is not Carl Froch. His Olympic medal and subsequent showcasing on ITV means he is much more of a media darling. He is also a favourite of American network HBO, who will still screen Saturday's contest. However, if he has frustrated SKY with this weekend's shenanigans, then there is the danger that Khan will have effectively cut himself off from the paymasters of British boxing.

Insiders within the sport agree that the decision to shun SKY is not wise. Eddie Hearn of Matchroom has labelled the decision 'commercial suicide'. Few blame SKY for their decision to pull the PPV offering (it has been reported that the show had barely attracted 50 advance sales), and coming six months after the Haye-Harrison debacle, the network has to be seen to be offering value for money to it's boxing fans. It's also unlikely that the terms agreed with Primetime will see Amir receive much more than he would have received under the reduced deal with SKY so the question remains, why do this?

Perhaps Khan's people feel better-than-predicted sales are possible. A few juicy quotes and perhaps even a press conference brawl wouldn't hurt in this regard, but something will have to he done because it's almost certain that marketing for the PPV will be minimal.

Khan has lost this commercial battle in the short term, but whether this amounts to a knockout or merely a body blow in years to come remains to be seen. Personally, I feel it's unlikely that this will be a significant setback as a blockbuster summer bout will likely lead to a mutually beneficial reunion. SKY have seen Lennox Lewis and Ricky Hatton walk out on them in the past, only to return to them for the biggest nights and paydays of their respective careers. Khan's US TV support is also an asset, without which Saturday's fight in Manchester would probably have fallen by the wayside.

However, HBO's support is unlikely to weather any significant storm, such as a win for Paul McCloskey for example. That may be highly unlikely, but if Amir was to be defeated this Saturday then his fallen stock and soured relations would almost certainly make his comeback more difficult than he can imagine, and his Primetime gamble the worst decision of his career.

Quick Jabs 2

I've written another article for the fine website, thescore.ie this week. You should go there to read the snappy intro they've written for it, and all their other fine stuff. My merely adequate contribution is below.

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Despite two Irish fighters losing in fights for World Titles last month, 2011 may yet prove to be a successful year for our own with, it seems, another pair of World Title shots to look forward to.

Paul McCloskey is continuing his preparations for his fight against Amir Khan on April 16th, but one man who won’t be fighting on that card is Matthew Macklin. The Tipperary native was due to take on Khoren Gevor in an Eliminator fight for the WBA Middleweight Title at the MEN Arena that night, but has withdrawn with promoter Ricky Hatton citing ‘contractual issues’ in an interview on RTE Radio.

However, word on the grapevine is that the real reason for this decision is that Macklin is set to get a straight shot at a World Title, probably against WBA ‘Super’ Champion Felix Sturm. The German last fought in February, so a fight in the next two months would not be out of the question. Regular WBA Champion Gennady Golovkin and IBF Champion Sebastian Sylvester are also both regarded as options, but Sturm is the most likely opponent for the Tipperary native.

The fight is fraught with danger however. Macklin was initially due to fight Winky Wright in the US on April 9th, before the American was injured, and now that he has pulled out of the Gevor fight it means his training schedule, presumably aimed at peaking this month, will now have to be changed. Also, Sturm has never lost a decision in his homeland and if a fight is to be made with the German, it’s likely that Macklin will have to travel. He’d best work on his knockout punch...

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Speaking of judging decisions, it was interesting this week to read Katie Taylor tell The Score that boxing ‘is a corrupt sport at times.’ The statement is not news in itself, especially coming after Taylor’s recent shocking loss in Bulgaria, but it does serve to underline the difficulties facing Ireland’s amateur boxers ahead of the London Olympics.

For Taylor, there will be only one Qualifying event – the World Championships in China next May. Failure to progress to at least the Quarter Finals there, be it due to an off-day, a lucky punch or questionable judging will end any hopes the Bray woman has of winning an Olympic medal, long before the Games begin.

For Ireland’s men, the Qualifying process begins much sooner than that with this year’s World Championships in Azerbaijan in September. While not their only chance of reaching the London Games, it is one of the best for the Irish boxers who will continue to jockey for places on the team in tournaments in Finland and Poland next week.

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Two years ago, Kelly Pavlik was one of the hottest things in boxing. As a middleweight champion who had twice beaten Jermaine Taylor, the Youngstown native was likable, a big ticket seller, and always entertaining.

However, alcoholism and a staph infection almost halted his career, and Pavlik is to make his comeback in his first fight in over a year on the undercard of the Shane Mosley – Manny Pacquiao fight next month. Pavlik has moved up to the 168 pound division, and will take on the unbeaten Alfonso Lopez. The show is set to be a cracker –Humberto Soto is also due to take on Urbano Antillon in a rematch of one of the best fights of 2010.

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Congratulations to veteran promoter Bob Arum, who this week celebrates the forty-fifth anniversary of his first show. Arum has put on many of the most famous events in the sport’s history, including over 500 World Title fights. His Top Rank company are also going as strong as ever, and will put on the aforementioned Pacquiao-Mosley card on May 7th.

When asked about his career so far, the 79 year old said “It’s a good start.”

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Tributes have been paid to former broadcaster and trainer Gil Clancy. The Hall of Famer passed away at the age of 88 on Thursday. Best known for his work with Emile Griffith, Clancy also trained a host of champions and contenders before beginning a career on US TV in the 1980’s.

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This weekend is a fairly quiet one for boxing fans, though Setanta Ireland will have live coverage of Ivan Calderon’s bid to gain revenge over Giovani Segura in their WBO Light Flyweight Title fight from Mexico in the early hours of Sunday morning.

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This Week in Boxing History

This past Thursday marked the 21st anniversary of one of the finest nights in one of the most under-rated boxing careers. An all-action fighter, Terry Norris was exciting as anyone in the ring, particularly from 1988-1993. He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005, after a career which saw him win four World Titles and the support of many hardcore fans. ‘Terrible’ Terry’s gung-ho style is best encapsulated in this devastating first round knockout of John Mugabi on March 31st, 1990. It was Ring Magazine’s Knockout of the Year.

Quick Jabs 1

I'm hoping to begin writing for another website, http://www.thescore.ie on my first love, namely boxing.  They published my first article on Saturday (it's a little dated now) but here you go.

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There’s no way to disguise that last week was very disappointing for Irish boxing fans.  Two of our own fought for World Titles – unfortunately, both were beaten – however, neither was disgraced.

Willie Casey was always going to find it tough going against Guillermo Rigondeaux.  Despite the advantage of a partisan Dublin crowd, Casey’s inexperience showed against the two-time Olympic Gold Medallist.  Rigondeaux was forced to come to Ireland after his last fight, a snore-fest decision win against Ricardo Cordoba (another man familiar to Irish fans), but in blowing Casey out of the ring in the first round, he is likely to have once again garnered the attention of the US TV Networks.  For Casey meanwhile, it is difficult to see where he can go from here but the Limerick man is affable and can sell tickets, so expect him to return, and possibly again fight for a European title.

Good as RIgondeaux was, Belfast’s Brian Magee arguably faced an even tougher fight when he fought Lucian Bute in Montreal.  Magee survived until the tenth round, before the referee rightly stopped the fight following a massive uppercut which saw him hit the canvas for the third time.  Magee earned a lot of fans with his performance, as he was never expected to trouble the Romanian.  He may now be offered further fights against American and Canadian prospects, against whom he would be expected to provide a stern test.  It’s up to Magee, who turns 35 in June, if this is a road he wants to travel down.

It hasn’t all been doom and gloom for Irish fans, with our amateur stars again leading the way, recording two wins over a China this week in Dungarvan and New Ross.  Of the 24 fights so far, Ireland have won 18 ahead of tonight’s third and final meeting in Dublin.  Katie Taylor will look for a third win over former World Championship Final opponent Cheng Dong – the Bray woman won each of their first two fights this week on a 17-2 scoreline – while former Olympic medallist Kenny Egan will be in action at the National Stadium for the first time since his recent loss to Mullingar’s Joe Ward in the National Championships.

Note - Egan was one of four Irish boxers to win on Friday night, but Ireland lost out to the Chinese.

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It’s been another good week for Floyd Mayweather.  The man they call ‘Money’ hit the jackpot in Las Vegas, with a massive bet on an NBA Basketball game.  According to his twitter page, Mayweather cashed in a slip worth over $37,000 following the Chicago Bulls’ win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. 

No doubt, the money will come in very useful.  It’s reported this week that, for a third time, talks on a proposed superfight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have fallen by the wayside, this time because of Floyd’s financial demands.  It’s claimed he was seeking a ridiculous $100m to take on boxing’s biggest potential fight, making one wonder if he wants it to happen at all.

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After last weekend’s plethora of pugilism, this weekend is a much tamer affair though there are some interesting fights ahead.  Tomorrow afternoon, Russian middleweight Dmitry Pirog enters the ring for the first time since he captured the vacant WBO title with a stunning knockout win against Daniel Jacobs last July.  Pirog faces off against Argentine Javier Francisco Maciel in his homeland in a fight that will be televised here on Setanta Sports 1 on Saturday afternoon.

Also this weekend, the under-rated Yuriorkis Gamboa defends his World Featherwieght titles against Mexican Jorge Solis and Albert Sosnowski has an interesting defence of his European Heavyweight Title against Alexander Dimitrenko in Hamburg.  Neither of those fights will be televised in Ireland.

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This Week In Boxing History

On March 24^th 1975, Muhammad Ali fought the relative unknown Chuck Wepner for the World Title, a fight which lasted the full 15 rounds despite the perceived gulf in class between the fighters.  Wepner was knocked out in the final round, but was deemed to have floored Ali in the ninth, despite the champion’s assertion that his foot had been stood on.

The fight is also notable in that it served as the inspiration for a young Sylvester Stallone, who, after watching it, locked himself in a room to write Rocky.

Inspiration Is All Around

In life, and in sport, perspective is everything.

The majority of posts on this site, sporadic as they are, are of the here and now; of the game/match/fight/story of that day. Current affairs are, after all, the most pressing kind.

However, that does not mean that we should not know from where we come. I enjoy watching sports and fights from before I was born as much as I do those happening live on television. Some query this; my better half lists ESPN Classic and the BBC Red Button’s fantastic Classic Formula 1 feature among her pet hates. I also love watching sports documentaries, often about people and events I know little of, and I do this for one reason above all others.

Inspiration.

Perspective and knowledge are key, but without inspiration sport wouldn’t exist. Sports stars need a hook to draw them into a sport. Bernard Dunne speaks about the importance of Barry McGuigan, Lewis Hamilton idolizes Ayrton Senna and goodness only knows how many 10 year olds have kicked a ball against a wall imagining they are Pele, or Maradona, or Keane, or Rooney or whoever. As much as sport is about community, and our very existence, it is also something that inspires us, fans and competitors alike, and spurs it on.

I watch those historic events to be inspired, to see great fighters and athletes at their best, creating history. I also watch live events to see history as it is created, so in years to come I can say I was there when Dunne knocked out Cordoba, or when Schumacher clinched a World Title, or at the very least I can say I was sat in front of the television rejoicing with millions others when Bolt ran 9.58 in Berlin, or McAteer scored against the Dutch or any one of thousands of other events. I was alone, or in a small group, but I was one of many rejoicing. Together, alone. We were inspired by the things in front of our noses, something that I get to experience every day.

I am inspired by the woman I love, my Hellie. She took up blogging at my behest, twitter too. She know kicks my ass at both. Tomorrow, we heard to Belfast for the Irish Blog Awards 2011 in which her blog, http://www.anseo-a-mhuinteoir.com is nominated in the Best Education/Science Blog Category. Her’s is the only Primary School blog in the final five. She is also very active on twitter, @anseoamuinteoir, and best of all, she does this not for herself but for others. Blogging and interacting allows her to be a better teacher, something she loves, something she was born to do.

It is her passion, and it is her hope to inspire children for years to come. This passion can be see on her site, and in how she has made friends and relationships and earned the respect of others online. She inspires me as well. I intend to work hard over the next twelce months so that when we return to next year’s awards, we do so as a pair of nominees.

Thanks babe x

Boxing Fans, Casey Deserve Better Than RTE K.O.

For Irish sports fans, few days will ever eclipse Saturday, March 21, 2009.  It was a day so good, that I didn’t have to look up the exact date to write about it – it’s literally imprinted upon my memory.

It was the day of O’Gara’s drop goal, of Jones’ penalty miss, and of Ireland’s first Grand Slam for 51 years.

It was also a day of pugilism at its finest, of a titanic battle inside a Dublin ring, and of an Irish World Boxing Champion.

Simply, it was the sort of thing that dreams are made of.

Technically, it had happened before.  Rinty Monaghan won his World Flyweight Title on the same night that Jack Kyle and co. won the Grand Slam in 1948 but that was years before I was born, years before most of the people lucky enough to be inside the O2 Arena that night were born.  This was a different era, a different generation, and for both (arguably) Ireland’s finest ever rugby team and one of its most tenacious boxers that Saturday was the culmination of years of work and struggle.

Incredibly, it could happen again this year.  Disappointingly though, things won’t be the same if it does.
For the record, I’m not overly optimistic about Ireland’s Six Nations chances.  Injuries have mounted at precisely the wrong time and for some players, Father Time is catching up.  A rejuvenation of the team ahead of the World Cup this year is great to see, but it seems to be that this team isn’t quite where one would like it to be going into rugby’s showcase event.

However, others disagree with me and for once, I hope I am wrong.  I would love for Ireland to win their opening four games in the competition, and to welcome England to the Aviva Stadium for a Grand Slam decider.  I’d also love them to win, naturally.

That match is slated for March 19 – keep it free – and on that night, Limerick’s Willie Casey will be looking to join Bernard Dunne as a world champion.  He fights Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeaux in Dublin that night, for the same WBA strap that Dunne held aloft two years ago.  The odds will be stacked against the inexperienced Casey, but he will battle and brawl and give it everything he has, like Dunne did against Ricardo Cordoba.

Over 700,000 people tuned in to watch Dunne win his title – a sports mad nation, already on the high of highs, cheered him on and were drawn into that most absorbing of contests, because they were given the chance to do by RTE.  The national broadcaster screened the fight (and showed a repeat of it the next night) and hundreds of thousands, who had already been celebrating a Grand Slam, were suddenly cheering once again.  However, it appears that they won’t do the same for Casey, should he be victorious.

At a pre-fight press conference this week, it was confirmed that RTE have passed on the opportunity to screen the bout.  The promoters claim they wouldn’t have even had to pay a rights fee.  It’s a disappointing development, and unless things change the fight is now likely to be tucked away on SKY Sports or Eurosport, away from the casual fan.  Sure, it will be on the screens of every pub in Limerick and in many households too, but the nation is being done a disservice by RTE in this regard.  This is an event of national importance, an event which has proven audience-grabbing potential, and an event that one and all should have the right to see.

I intend to be in the CityWest Arena for the fight.  7,000 people will be there, cheering on Casey, and hopefully reeling from thrilling rugby that afternoon.  However, unless things change in the coming weeks, Ireland will be deprived of a potential repeat of one of the greatest days in our proud sporting history.

Haye Hits Bum Note

Just a quick addendum to Hellie's post about the Haye - Harrison fight yesterday.  Most pundits reckon that the fight is going to be a fairly easy one for Haye - the bookies have him a 1-3 favourite to win by knockout, and 1-12 to win the fight in any method.  It's also odds on to finish inside the distance, and there are no surprises there.

Another person who thinks it is likely to be one-sided is Haye himself, as you can see from the quotes below.  Here's another, that didn't really emerge until the publication of the papers today however.  Haye said to Audley: 'You're going to get violated... This fight is going to be as one-sided as gang rape.'

Unsurprisingly, the comments have been met with widespread condemnation.

In the heat of the moment, men in particular say a lot of things that aren’t met.  While never being in the situation, I can imagine that to be particularly likely in a pre-fight press conference – two men are building themselves up to dislike the opponent, while controversial comments sell tickets, and in turn generate money.  Therefore, odd as this may seem, I can understand why Haye said this.  I cannot, however, condemn the fact that he has yet to apologise.

Rape of any kind is a heinous crime, and to liken a fight to it is quite frankly disgusting.  For a man who sells himself as a genial fellow, and one who the British public in particular should like, his refusal to apologise is surprising.  Controversy may generate publicity, but to this extent it is not needed.  The fight will still go ahead, it will still cost fans €22 or so to watch it on TV, and I’m sure many will spend that...  But I hope Haye sees the error of his ways sooner rather than later.

Mack the Knife

In just over a month Gav and I are off on our hols. Weird hols I know but we're off to Bermingham to see Macklin fight for a European title fight.  I decided before going I should learn some more about Macklin and be more clued in. So where better go to go then the Almost Daily Sports Blog to share my new words of wisdom!

Born in Bermingham Macklin is considered to be an Irish pro boxer. We'll claim anyone with a loose Irish connection! But here I can't blame us for claiming him as our own. He's one hell of a boxer. The Tipperary Tornado is the former Irish, British and European middleweight champion. Hence why we love him so! September 2001 saw Macklin turn pro and leave his amateur days well behind him. Round One saw Mack the Knife Macklin beat the previously unbeaten Ram Singh from Wisbech in Glasgow. 
2006, the Jamie Moore fight was considered to be THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR! Everyone was talking about it. And then Macklin was beaten. Summer 06 saw Macklin hand the over the Irish Middleweight title to the Dub-Jim Rock. John Duddys matchmaker Jim Borzell said to Macklin "the European title then maybe you'll have something John wants." Macklin replied that he may have something that Duddy doesn't want right now. 
Macklin beat Rafa Sosa Pintos in late 09 on points bringing him even closer to a shot at a world title fight. He's since given up his European title fight to try for the world title. Since so far it hasn't worked out the way he wants he's going back to fight to regain his European title. This is what we're off to see in mis September. WOOHOO!
I've spent a while looking at some of his fights and this one is the one I've decided is one I really enjoyed!!  (I must say sorry for only having a link and not the actual video here-I've no idea how to do that trick that Gav does so a link will have to do for now!!)




Macklin is a fighter I am really looking forward to seeing. I really can't wait!! 

Non World Cup News Round Up

If like me you're well fed up of World Cup stuff and need something different you're in the right place. Have a look below for the weird and wonderful sports round up of bits and bobs that tickled my funny bone this week!


* Boxing in Moscow last weekend saw us take a Gold and Silver medal thanks to our boys Barnes-who nicely took the gold and O Neill-the silver. A great fight from both men however O Neill's opposition out classed him on the night.

* Dong Fangxiao of China was stripped of her Oylmpic medal last week when committee officials discovered she was only 14 at the time of the 2000 Sydney Games. 


* The luck of the Irish was with our rowers last week when Queens University Belfast took the eight and quads in the men's top division at Queen's Regatta in the Castlewellan Forrest Park lake in Co Down. Galway RC won the fours, St Michaels RC from Limerick took the double scull and pair and City of Derry BC took the single sculls. UCD were placed first and third respectively in the novice eights. According to rte.ie the womens teams also did well. 


*Kerry footballer Paul Galvin has been suspended (yet again) following a clash with Cork's Eoin Cadogan. He'll be quiet for at least 4 weeks while he cools his "unnacceptable" temper. 


* Mayo's successful Ladies Football team bolted from the campionship this year due to issues between the players and the management. Since they're no longer insured to train it's unlikely they'll be able to play on June 19th against Sligo. 


* Micheal Schumacher the seven times F1 champ won't be punished after tipping Massa's car last Sunday. Massa had to stop with just 6 laps to go for a new front wing. Schumacher's team boss Ross Brawn defended his driver claiming his tyres didn't have enough grain or grip. No malice they say on Micheals behalf. 


* London Mayor Boris Johnson wants to take total control of the grounds of the 2012 Oylmpic  Games stadium in London. He's torn between letting West Ham have it for their stadium or use it as a venue for "pop concerts". I know which one I like and it's not West Ham....


* 67 caps for Ireland and Geordan Murphy has won the captain armband at long last. He'l be El Capitan against New Zealand's Maori in Rotorua International Stadium on Friday. 


* Woods claims to be almost at his best form following his intense preparations for this weeks US Open at Pebble Beach. This is Golf related right Wood?


* Barry Hearn is to take a 51% controlling share of the commercial business end of snooker. Eh I don't know if this makes any difference to a sport I don't believe to be a sport but eh......


* A magnificent century from Shahid Afridi could not prevent Sri Lanka from a 16-run win over Pakistan in the first match of the Asia Cup in Dambulla. Eh yeah what he said....


Enough rambling for now I'm off for a nice glass of wine and some Greys Anatomy...

Boxing At Its Weirdest And Worst

I’ve been looking for the following video for the past few days. It is the highlights of a fight which occurred last Saturday night between Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron. This fight had one of the most bizarre endings of any sporting event I have ever witnessed, but I won’t explain it here. Just press play.

So there you have it, a fight ending after a boxer injures himself by falling out of the ring. Only in boxing would something like this happen. I can remember something similar happening once before, in a fight between Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan in 1993 or so, but on that occasion Benn got up (with the help of ITV’s ringside reporter Gary Newbon), returned to the ring and indeed on the fight (in tragic circumstances).

This fight, thankfully, didn’t have anything like that impact on the health of either participant but nonetheless, it will hurt the reputation of the sport in a different but nonetheless profound way. Now, accidents happen. They cannot be avoided, despite the many steps taken to do just that. However one such step which was not taken by the organisers of Saturday’s event in California was the standard of the ring. The ropes were not properly tied together. Had this simple measure been applied, then there’s no way that Cintron would have hit the floor.

The big farce however is not the fact that Cintron plunged through the ropes, disappointing as that was, but what happened afterwards. The incident occurred in the fourth round of the fight, and had it occurred anywhere but California then the fight would have been declared a no contest. Indeed (though not shown in the above video) referee Lou Moret initially said that would be the resolution. However, for reasons unclear to this particular writer, this decision was changed and it was decided that the thirty-odd seconds seen above constituted a fourth round, and that the result of the fight would be decided by the ringside judges. Their scoring was farcical. One gave all four rounds to Williams while another also scored the fight 40-36, albeit in favour of Cintron. The other judge gave the fight to Williams in a score of 39-37, but even this seemed wrong. Cintron was denied the win through little fault of his own. TV viewers, writers and indeed those in attendance were given the most unsatisfactory of endings, one that leaves boxing tarnished when it’s really not what the sport needs.

I love boxing, more than any other sport in the world. However, there are occasions such as Saturday in which the sport does little to help itself. For a sport which needs to rehabilitate itself in the eyes of the general public, moments like this are unwanted. It should have been a fight which entertained and enthralled one and all. Instead, it’ll end up on ‘What happened next’ sections of TV quiz shows. On a night when it should have been at its best, boxing has again shot itself in the foot.

Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter

Rubin Carter, the man they call the Hurricane, turns 73 today.

Carter has the unusual distinction of being best known for two, if not three things that he himself did not do.  Denzel Washington played him in a film, Bob Dylan wrote a song about him, and perhaps most famously (given that it is the reason for those two artistic acts) he was twice convicted of murders, only for those convictions to be later quashed.

You can read all about his legal escapades at his Wikipedia page (and indeed about aspects of his character which, shall we say, were not the most genial) as that’s not what I’m going to discuss here.  Instead, I’m going to dispel one myth perpetrated by both the aforementioned film and song.  Dylan may say that ‘he could-a been the Champion of the World’ but that isn’t quite true, at least not at the time of his conviction.

Carter was a fine boxer, of that there is no doubt.  He won 27 of 40 fights, while that record was an even more impressive 20-4 when he challenged for the World title held by Joey Giardello.  However, Carter was handily beaten in that fight (despite his claims to the contrary) and he would never get a shot at glory again, as he went on to record seven more losses within the next two years.

Despite this, Carter was a decent banger, particularly early in his career.  For me, his most impressive win came over Emile Griffith, about a year before the fight with Giardello.  Griffith had been welterweight champion at this point (following his memorable and tragic win over Benny Paret) and would later clinch the middleweight crown as well.  However, in December of 1963, a month after the assassination of JFK, Rubin Carter knocked him out in the first round of their fight in Pittsburgh.

Carter was no stranger to short nights’ work – indeed this was his eleventh win within three rounds – and the popularity earned through this explosiveness was in part what would earn him a shot at the title.  Perhaps more importantly however, it also earned him his greatest asset, the nickname of ‘Hurricane’ as he is best known to this day.

The War - 25 Years On

I know things have been quiet around here lately but despite that, I had to break my own silence to share with you the anniversary of one of the greatest sorting occasions of all time.

Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fight between Marvellous Marvin Hagler (as is his legal name) and Thomas Hearns, possibly the greatest boxing match of the 20th century.  It’s not an exaggeration to say that the first round, in particular, of this fight is as close as one is likely to see to an all-out war within a boxing ring but the fight as a whole is fantastic.  Add in the occasion, and the fact that at the time these were two of the best middleweights in the world, and you come to appreciate why this fight at Caesar’s Palace has gone down in boxing folklore.

If you watch one round of boxing ever, make it this round.  And if you have five minutes to spare today, use it wisely and pay homage to these warriors.

Bye Bye Taylor

I pointed this out earlier on tonight and here's a video pulled off Youtube.  This is from tonight's fight between Jermain Taylor and Arthur Abraham and here's Abraham's 12th round knockout.  It's a corker.

Is The Super Six Really Super?

I’m just watching the first fight of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Arthur Abraham v Jermaine Taylor in Germany. After 8 rounds, the commentators have one round in it so I expect Abraham to win by about 8 points, given the way fights are scored in Germany.

For those of you that haven’t heard about the tournament, and due to boxing’s perilous standing in the world, the Super Six World Boxing Classic involves six boxers who will fight a series of fights over eighteen months to determine the best Super Middleweight in the world. Indeed, it’s an attempt to boost the profile of the sport itself.

Jermain Taylor, Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Andre Dirrell, Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler are the six entrants in the Super Six and, to be fair to the organisers, they are six of the top ten in the world. Indeed, only Lucian Bute can feel aggrieved that he wasn’t invited to take part – he is the IBF World Champion. And Super Middleweight is one of boxing’s most vibrant divisions. Froch fought Taylor last timeout in a bout that ended in a twelfth round knockout for the Nottingham man, while Mikkel Kessler has been involved in plenty of scraps too. They’re good boxers, and good boxers to watch – this should work, right? I doubt it.

The problem with the Super Six is the very problem that it is trying to fix. Boxing’s profile is low, and isn’t helped by the media coverage. It’s on Showtime in the States, the second biggest premium channel for boxing in the States, rather than HBO or (in a dewam world) ESPN or one of the networks. At least it’s on an established channel – in the UK, tonight’s action is on a channel called Primetime, it’s first ever program. And it’s pay-per-view.

So, good as the tournament is, it will battle to register beyond the boxing community. I hope it does, like I always do when it comes to boxing, but I’m pessimistic.

Abraham won, by knockout. It’s one of the knockouts of the year. I thought I was going to be proven correct on the scorecards. I still may have been. I’ll have to get a video of that punch up. Yowza it was a good ‘un.

Irish Boxing Set For Middleweight Feast

As part of work today, I attended a press conference in Limerick where Andy Lee announced his next fight.  For the record, it will take place on November 14th in the University Sports Arena and Lee’s opponent will be French and European Union Middleweight Champion Affif Belghecham.  He’s a decent fighter who’s ranked ahead of Lee by most organizations but his lack of power – four knockout wins in 23 fights – makes me think Lee will be favourite, particularly in front of his home fans.

Much of the talk at the press conference surrounded other potential opponents for Lee, namely John Duddy and Matthew Macklin.  This trio have the potential to give Irish boxing some of its biggest ever domestic fights.  They all fight at or near middleweight and each one is a top class fighter, if not quite world class (yet).  More importantly however, each boxer has the ability to entertain and a series of fights between them could give Ireland something similar to the Benn/Eubank/Watson fights in the UK in the early 1990s.

Lee is probably the most naturally gifted of the three.  He’s fought 20 times, losing only once in a premature stoppage against Brian Vera.  After failing to medal at the Athens Olympics, Lee signed on to be trained and managed by Emmanuel Steward and his Kronk crew.  Steward promised much but so far Lee has failed to deliver.  Most of his fights have been unimpressive and though he shows some power with several knockdowns, he’s lacked the flashy knockouts you feel he’s capable of.  He also has the small problem of being the most in need of this quasi-tournament, hence (I feel) the reasons that it was spoken about today.

Duddy has one defeat, against Billy Lyell in April of this year, but he did bounce back from that with an impressive win over Mexican Michi Munoz in New York on Saturday.  He’s now likely to fight in Mexico in December before a mouth-watering clash with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. In New York on St. Patrick’s Weekend.  It’s worth noting that he’s persuing this course of action (in conjunction with Bob Arum of Top Rank) instead of fighting Lee in Limerick, a fight that he was offered (according to what was said at Thomond Park today).

Macklin, about two years ago, would probably have been regarded as a distance behind both Lee and Duddy.  That’s because of the two defeats on his record but they’re not important right now, simply because he’s bounced back from them, and in style.  (Ironically, one of those defeats was in a barnstormer against Jamie Moore, who himself could work his way into this potential series of fights, even if he is a way behind the rest, at least until he wins a European Title of his own next week.)  Indeed, Macklin is probably our finest middleweight.  That’s after his European Title win over Amin Asikainen last month.  Macklin blitzed the Finn in one round – take note Andy Lee, this is the sort of thing we need to see from you

They’re three potentially great fighters and they’re all Irish.  Anyone who remembers the Benn/Eubank/Watson fights will know how three fighters can capture the attention of the public, and these three fighters have the style to give us classic fights.  It is a potential purple patch for the Irish boxing and I, for one, hope that we will see them in the ring together in the not-too-distant future.

Audley Is No Prizefighter

When Audley Harrison won his gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, it seemed that glory and fame were within his reach. He was physically impressive, strong, had the necessary skills and he was loved by the British public. He signed a £2m pound TV deal with the BBC and it seemed that he was set to box his way to a world title in front of the nation. His mantra was clear and was often repeated for anyone who would listen: “I will be world champion.”

What happened next, as they say, is history but unfortunately for Fr-Audley it wasn’t the type of history that he had hoped to make. He won his first 19 fights, none of them impressively, before Danny Williams handed him his first defeat in a drab encounter. The British public rejoiced. Audley had fallen from grace, in a big way. I can’t find video to show it, but the way in which promoter Frank Warren celebrated Williams’ knockdown of Harrison in the 10th round was a metaphor for the nation. Boy, were they delighted to see him on his ass.

Since then Audley has lost three more times – to the average Dominick Guinn, to Michael Sprott and to Belfast taxi driver Martin Rogan. Rogan got the fight with Audley on the back of his win in the original Prizefighter tournament and now, after winning another version of it last night, Audley will be hoping that Prizefighter can do the same for him.



For those of you who don’t know, Prizefighter is one of the ways in which boxing is supposedly fighting back against the threat of the UFC and the rest of the mixed-martial arts scene. I don’t really like it, much as I did enjoy last night’s event. In short, it’s an eight-man knockout tournament which requires the champion to win three fights in the one night. It works, sure, but it’s boxing for people with A.D.D. The longer forms of the sport will always be better in my eyes.

Audley really shouldn’t be fighting in something like this. He should be better than it. Yet his career is now at the point where he had no option but to. To give him credit, he took his chance and was crowned the winner last night. He then repeated the mantra we’d heard so many times: “there's still hope for me and hope for Britain to have a world champion.” I doubt it. Audley beat Coleman Barrett, Danny Hughes and Scott Belshaw last night, a series of moderate fighters but no more. To think that a win over a Galwegian who is considerably lighter and has less experience would put him in the frame for a world title shot is ludicrous.

The old boxing adage goes “you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate” and this is Harrison’s best hope. He needs another TV deal, and he needs to engage with the British public in a way he’s not done since he was basking in the glow of his Sydney triumph. That, however, seems unlikely.

The Morning(ish) After The Night Before

Time for a post-mortem.

The last post prior to the fight was titled 'Bernard Abú' which is ironic, because last night about 9,000 souls in the O2 Arena were saying 'Bernard..Ah...Boo' or something like that. It was a disappointing fight.

I'm sure you saw it - it seemed to us that Bernard controlled, if not dominated, the opening two rounds but when he was drawn into a fight in the third, he was outclassed by Poonsawat who simply had too much power. Bernard was caught with a strong left hook - and don't underestimate the effect of the punch that cut and hurt his ear while on the way down - and he never truly recovered. He should have tied up, he should have spoiled and fouled, but he didn't. The second knockdown was brutal - there was never going to be a repeat of Cordoba Round 5.

Sometimes, when our sports stars lose, we feel cheated but not last night. All indications were that Bernard's training camp went well and he made no excuses on that front in his post-fight interview. There's also no doubt that he gave anything other than 100%. He was just beaten by a better man on the night.

Sport sucks sometimes.

At this point, I don't know if Bernard Dunne's career has been one in which he under- or over-achieved. That's because I don't want it to be over. I don't say that as a selfish fan but as someone who's genuinely trying to think of his best interests. Dunne has been beaten twice, sure, both knockouts, but he hasn't taken a large amount of beatings in recent years (Cordoba aside). He's not like, say Ricky Hatton, who looks punch drunk and should hang up the gloves. Bernard has a lot left to give inside the boxing ring, the only question is where and how.

For me, I'd be happy to see him fight Rendall Munroe for the European Super Bantamweight Title. Munroe would be a 'name' and the fight would also make cash common sense. His only other option, in my opinion, would be to move up to featherweight. At 5'7", Dunne is big at the 122lb limit and the extra bulk in his body could help him. That plan was indicated as most likely by Brian Peters last night, and both he and Bernard say that the Dubliner will fight on. Good. He needs to recover from last night, mentally more than anything else.

The good thing, though, is he will be back.

***

The rest of the card, Dunne aside, was quite good. Stephen Haughian was lucky to get a draw, and Tyson Fury wasn't that impressive - an injury to his right-hand may have something to do with that. The Jamie Power-Michael Sweeney fight on the other hand was a cracker. Like Dunne-Poonsawat, it only went three rounds but there wasn't a dull moment and it was a great win for Sweeney, the Ros Muc based Mayo native. I'd love to see the two of them go at it again. Brian Peters, or whoever, should get them to fight in a small-hall show in Power's native Limerick because that's a fight I'm more than willing to watch a lot more of. Should it happen, then I'll see you there.

***

A big thanks to all of you who checked out the live blog last night. There were hiccups, and there were issues but it was fun to share our thoughts with you in such an instant way. It's something you'll definitely see more of here at The Almost Daily Sports Blog.

Bernard Abú!!

So D-Day has arrived for Bernard Dunne. There’s not long now until his battle with Poonsawat, and the nerves are high. Both boxers weighed in successfully yesterday (though there was a slight scare as the Thai had to climb the scales three times to come in under the 122lb limit).

We here at The Almost Daily Sports Blog are providing coverage all day, as you can see, and we want you to take part. There’s a few ways that you can do that. Any tweets with the hashtag dunnelive (i.e. #dunnelive) should appear in the console automatically, while you’re also welcome to leave comments at the bottom of this page.

You can also comment in the CoveritLive console itself – for most of you these comments require moderation and this will be provided at various points from this evening, hopefully, and certainly during the fight itself.

So start off NOW by taking the poll, and let us know who you think will win. Feel free to tweet/comment with your predictions for the fight or anything else you want to say. Hopefully you’ll enjoy what we have to offer here later today.

One final thing, to get you in the mood, here’s Newstalk’s commentary from the final round of Dunne v Cordoba in March. If this doesn’t get your pulse racing, nothing will.



C'mon Bernard!!