Boxing (Olympic)

With the 2012 London Olympics just over the horizon, the stage is being set for the first time two women will step in the ring to battle for gold. However, is it worth it? Has the addition of female competition caused ripple effects in the sports community, good or bad?

It was a big deal for the sport of wrestling when women were added to the schedule in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Women wrestlers rejoiced as male boxers took the blow of reducing their weight division from 12 to 11. Now as women boxers rejoice, male boxers take a blow  again as their weight divisions reduce from 11 to 10.

What benefits were received in the sport of wrestling from the addition of women in the Olympics? The hope was that collegiate programs would be saved as more women sought after acceptance to colleges with coed opportunities. Some schools, such as California’s Menlo College, did offer all female squads. However, the truth remains: Wrestling programs continue to be the first on the chopping block as schools try to deal with budget cuts under the guise of equal opportunity for women.

The scuttlebutt has been the same for decades that the sport of boxing is dead and as the UFC attempts to hammer the final nails in the coffin, the boxing community is left wondering, “Why now?” The latest attempts of the International Amateur Boxing Association, or AIBA, have given us the almost non-existent World Series of Boxing and women’s boxing in the Olympics—both of which are trying to assist boxers in prolonging their amateur careers.

The past formulas have been simple for male and female boxers. For men, develop a strong amateur record and try to go pro. Olympic medalists can expect higher purses with the majority of amateurs not making the transition to the pros. For women, a brief amateur stint then the pros for those who are committed. The reason for a short amateur career is due to the small pool of boxers that results in being matched up with the same opponent numerous times. Most female boxers realize that turning pro is not difficult and pays.

What good will come of women boxing in divisions that could have them facing a 10-pound weight advantage? What display of skill and mastery will come of facing an opponent with a 10-pound weight disadvantage? Was this addition truly in the best interest of the sport of boxing? And how much more can their male counterparts take in order to provide women with ample opportunities?

We will have to wait to see the outcome in London.

"The bottom line is, boxing is violent.” – Dr. Danelle Fisher 

I am not entirely sure when boxing became an official sport instead of a way to settle aggressive debates, but I am fairly confident that it must have been a very long time ago, being one of oldest sports in history dating back to 688 BC. 

There are way too many people who perceive boxing as a brutal, nasty sport fitting for social outcasts and aggressive delinquents.

It sure looks that way when you think about it: two men are trained to hit each other in the head and body, with hopes of hurting the other one to the point of a knockout.

Inflicting serious damage to your opponent seems to be the main point in a boxing match when watching it on television without any education about the sport and its roots. People hear about brain injuries and deaths in the ring on a regular basis, with young fighters dying from brain bleeding and other serious damage. 

But is boxing really that bad? Is football for instance, a much safer sport? I am aware that I will likely get a colossal amount of criticism for this comparison, but I just couldn’t resist. Injuries ranging from mild to severe happen in football a lot more often than in boxing and that’s not debatable. What about kickboxing? Karate? MMA? 

Any contact sport will have its obvious hazards, but that doesn’t mean it is focused on molding aggressive personalities and damaged outcomes. Haven’t you ever heard boxing being labeled as “the art of boxing?” There is a very good reason for labeling boxing as a form of art, and with a little historical education, curiosity and maybe even a few lessons, people would realize just how beautiful, intricate, demanding as well as rewarding this sport really is. Those people who go boxing for fitness are generally in great shape, both physically and mentally. 

At this point in time, you may be asking yourself, “Where is this guy going with all this?” Well, let me point you to an article from the Los Angeles Times, where a few health professionals argue that boxing is not a good place to send your kids for exercise as it has too much potential to cause early brain damage: 

After reading this piece, I felt that many people will be cheated by its content and direction. 

"Pediatricians should strongly discourage boxing participation among their patients and guide them toward alternative sport and recreational activities that do not encourage intentional head injuries," co-authors Laura Purcell and Claire LeBlanc, both doctors affiliated with the Canadian Pediatric Society, wrote in the journal Pediatrics. 

While arguing that boxing is a dangerous sport, the main benefit the article proposes is that this very same violent sport can prevent troubled kids from progressing in the wrong direction. 

Boxing requires a lot of discipline, patience, and respect for yourself as well as others. Punching others in the head, while being part of a boxing match, is not what kids are being trained to do. There is a great and humble benefit to boxing, but unfortunately it is quite invisible to people that have never been active participants of it. The self esteem boost and the elevated confidence that kids get from training, is worth much more than even the physical benefit of the sport.     

As always, there are opposing views to just about every statement ever made, and while most people pick a side, many times both can be right or wrong at the same time. 

So is saying that boxing is one of the most dangerous sports, a conclusive and widely accepted statement? 

Not according to National Safety Council: “A 1996 National Safety Council accident report ranked amateur boxing 23rd on its list of injury-producing sports and rated it the safest of all contact sports…safer than football, wrestling, soccer, gymnastics and in-line skating.”  

Boxing is 23rd on the list. But what does that really mean when talking in terms of the actual damage sustained in the amateur boxing world? 

“Johns Hopkins studied over 500 active amateur boxers from six different cities, all of similar ages, social backgrounds, educational levels and lifestyle habits, comparing their neurological functions with those of non-boxers. To date, it is most thoroughly organized medical study on amateur boxing. Its findings were issued in 1994 and the results were conclusive. Although there was some indication of temporary memory loss immediately following bouts which dissipated shortly thereafter, the study found no clinically-significant evidence of permanent impairment of motor skills, loss of coordination or memory or slurred speech among the active amateur boxers. There was no measurable damage sustained to the neurological system found in the seven-year study.” A nine-year study by an Australian physical showed the same conclusive outcome. 

While this is good news for those who believe that boxing is a big no-no for kids, it doesn’t mean that boxing, or any contact sport for that matter, is an entirely safe outlet: “Researchers examined boxing injuries among people 6 and older and found an average of 8,700 boxing injuries were treated in emergency rooms annually; of those, approximately 2,500 were among children 6-17 years old. Throughout the course of the 19-year study, the number of boxing injuries increased 211 percent—from 5,361 in 1990 to nearly 17,000 in 2008. The most common injuries were fractures, which occurred most often to the hand (33 percent), followed by the head and neck (23 percent).” - NSC 

Participation in boxing, according to SGMA Sports Industries, has significantly increased: “On a macro level, figures from SGMA Research indicate the participation rates of boxing and kickboxing have increased 6.4 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively, between 2008 and 2009.” 

Most importantly, if you notice in the link provided above, boxing and stress relief are closely related. “According to industry experts, boxing and kickboxing have become the preferred methods to release frustrations and alleviate anger among exercise participants.”

I don’t want to go into the possible symptoms and conditions that high levels of stress can trigger, because I am confident most people are well aware of them. 

Sure, boxing is a dangerous sport, but that’s how sports are. Unless playing chess can burn tons of calories and benefit health in improving the cardiovascular system as well as all other body functions, I would suggest that playing sports is the best way to grow and progress for kids and adults alike.

George "The Saint" Groves (12-0, 10 KO) and James "Chunky" DeGale (10-0, 8 KO) have been involved in a grudging war of words in the lead up to their upcoming fight for the British and Commonwealth super middleweight championship tomorrow night at the O2 Arena in London.

The two foes started out in the same gym where they used to spar with each other before Groves won a close majority decision against DeGale in 2006 for the Golden Gloves.

Since then the two rivals have turned professional and have both won all of their competitive fights so far with both of them stopping all but two of their opponents thus far.

So far, the discussions have flourished about who of these bitter enemies will win their matchup, with most experts going for 2008 Olympian DeGale. 

In the buildup, DeGale has tried to, seemingly unsuccessfully, upset Groves by calling him names such as "ugly kid" and also by holding his nose when Groves has been near. 

Groves, under the tutelage of Adam Booth and Hayemaker promotions, have taken things a little easier and has so far behaved professionally. 

Both of the fighters have had great, hard training camps so far, with DeGale sparring with the likes of recently named WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly, while Groves has been sparring with André Dirrell in the world-known 5th Street Gym in Miami, so there are no excuses for this fight. 

DeGale is the self-made antagonist in this fight, his criticism of Adam Booth, Groves and even David Haye has come out of nowhere and according to Groves, he is obsessed with Haye and is jealous they signed him and not DeGale.

However, DeGale is blessed with natural fighting skills and has looked more accomplished at the high domestic level than Groves has up until now.

Chunky's TKO victory over Paul Smith is his most significant one to date, but a fight in which his chin or heart was never really tested in. He then went on to beat Alpay Kobal in five rounds in March. 

A lot has been made of Groves' sixth-round TKO win over Kenny Anderson in November of 2010. He was knocked down onto his knee in the third round of the fight and took more blows to his head than trainer Booth would have liked.

However, he did come back and showed impressive skill, heart and determination to get the victory only a few rounds after he had been hurt. He then went on to beat Ghanian Daniel Adotey in March.

Both Groves and DeGale seem extremely confident about their chances and whereas Groves knows and admits he has flaws DeGale seem to think he is a perfect fighter.

That will be the interesting point in this fight. Can Groves test DeGale's heart and chin? Is DeGale as good as he thinks he is?

I predict a stoppage within eight rounds. I think I know who will win it. Look for the surprise.   

This coming Thursday night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, the No. 1 team in the World Series of Boxing Americas conference, the L.A. Matadors, will be taking on the second place team, the Miami Gallos. The Matadors have a record of 4-1 while the Gallos are 3-2. The Matadors only lost came in their season opener in Miami against the Gallos.

It was a controversial lost for the Matadors, as the final match a heavyweight thriller between Trent Rawlins of the Gallos and David Imoesiri of the Matadors was declared a majority draw by judges of the Florida Boxing Commission. The bout was later overturned by the WSB supervisor on hand, awarding Rawlins the victory and sealing the team victory for the Gallos, 3 bouts-2 bouts.

On that night was also the anticipated debut of light heavyweight 2008 Olympic silver medalist Kenny Egan of Dublin, Ireland. Egan, a three-time Amateur European Union Gold Medalist, started boxing when he was 8 years old and has been in the amateur ranks for over 10 years, making him one of the favorites in the league.

That night, he defeated by unanimous decision 2009 Golden Gloves champion Dorian Anthony. Unfortunately, in that bout he suffered a nasty cut above his right eye from a headbutt. League rules had him under medical suspension for 45 days to cure the cut.

Now, Thursday night in Los Angeles, he is back to face the Matadors and Dorian Anthony again. Egan tells me that he "is good to go" after the layoff and that he "does not mind facing Anthony again."

The Gallos, coached by former USA Olympic coach (1996) Pat Burns, announced earlier in the week that they had just signed another Irish boxer that will compete at middleweight on Thursday night. He is former 2008 Olympian and European bronze medalist John Joyce. He will be facing league-leading middleweight Russell Lamour of the Matadors.

The Gallos will need all the help they can as the Matadors are at home, on a roll and loaded with talent. With a little luck of the Irish, they are hoping to come out victorious.

The competitive and exciting World Series Boxing (WSB) League returned to action Wednesday night at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fl. The Miami Gallos where taking on the Memphis Force in the league's fifth week after a Christmas recess.

The Miami Gallos scored an impressive four matches to one victory for the win. They improved their record to 3-2 while Memphis fell to 1-4 in the WSB Americas Conference. All three Gallos (Spanish for gamecocks) victories have come at home.

In all WSB league matchups there are always five bouts in preceding order: bantamweights (119 lbs.), lightweights (134 lbs.), middleweights (160 lbs.), light heavyweight (187 lbs.) and heavyweight (201+ lbs.).

The third bout (middleweight) has been crucial for the Gallos' two out of the three victories at home. The first victory, the home opener Nov. 23, 2010 against the Los Angeles Matadors, and tonight against Memphis. Both matchups were tied 1-1 going into the third bout. William Williams, the Gallos' middleweight from Conyers, GA, has delivered both clutch victories giving the momentum for his team to pull out the victories.

Tonight 20-year-old Williams, a 2009 National PAL Championships silver medalist, defeated Memphis' 23-year-old Terrell Gausha, the 2009 USA Boxing National Champion from Cleveland, OH. Both fighters came into the match with a 1-1 league record. It was it very close fight as Williams gave it all he had in the fifth round to secure the victory by split decision. The scores were 48-47x2 and 47-48. Williams thanked God for everything afterwards, and said that he felt he had to pull it out in the last round, and thanked everybody for coming out.

In the first bout of the night Memphis Force southpaw bantamweight 22-year-old Ernesto Garza from Saginaw, MI defeated 2008 Beijing Olympian 24-year-old Paulo Carvalho from Brazil. It was a very close fight that had Garza throwing a lot of punches while Carvalho almost knocked out Garza in the second round and came on strong in the last round. It wasn't enough as Garza won a close split decision by scores of 48-47x2 and 47-48.

Next up in a lightweight all Eastern European showdown, Miami Gallo 21-year-old Leonid Malkov from Kiev, Ukraine against 19-year-old Elian Dimitrov of Memphis from Burgas, Bulgaria. Malkov defeated Dimitrov in overwhelming fashion by TKO at 1:10 of the fourth round.

The fourth bout of the night was an anticipated light heavyweight rematch between Memphis Force Robert Brant (St.Paul, Minn) versus Miami Gallo Sijoula Shabazz (Las Cruces, N.M.). Brant had defeated 11-9 Shabazz in the 2009 USA Boxing National Championships. Shabazz came in fired up and was the aggressor, having Brant backing and trying to land punches throughout all five rounds.

Shabazz, a 2008 National Golden Gloves Champion was victorious by unanimous decision 48-47x3. After the bout Shabazz stated that he came out aggressively for the victory and that in his previous defeats he had been relaxed; if Brant would have fought him toe to toe he would of knocked him out.

The final bout of the evening had Miami Gallo Donovan Dennis (Davenport, Iowa) knocking out Danny Calhoun (Chicago, IL) of the Force with a devastating left at 2:10 in the third round. Dennis told me that he was upset with the low blow that Calhoun had given him earlier in the round and that he was looking to put him out. Which he did without a doubt.

Dennis' knockout was the climax of the night for the Gallos, which so far, have found a way to win at home.

In the locker room head coach Pat Burns said that there were scores of 48-47 throughout the matches and that fights were won in the final fifth round. That their training and conditioning are making a difference.

Assistant coach Joe Burns told me that the team (the Gallos) was ready for the second half of the season and that they were training non-stop during the holidays.

Next up for the Miami Gallos is an away matchup Jan. 13 against the first-place Los Angeles Matadors.

Versus Network will televise tonight's fight on Saturday, Jan.15 at 6:00 pm.

Follow the WSB at www.worldseriesboxing.com

Felix Savon dominated amateur heavyweight (201 lbs) boxing circles between 1985 when he won the Junior World Championship in Bucharest,Romania out pointing Poland's Andrew Golota, until the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia when he defeated Sultan Ibragimov (21-13) from Russia.

After winning his third Gold medal against Ibragimov he retired at 33. One year before amateur boxing's mandatory retirement age of 34.

During his reign he captured three consecutive heavyweight Olympic Gold medals (1992, 1996, and 2000) Gold at 6 consecutive World Amateur Boxing Championships (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995,and 1997) and was the Cuban National Champion from 1985 until 1998. He composed an amateur record of 362-21.

The big question is, who did this 6' 5" tall lanky amateur boxer with extraordinarily foot and hand speed fight against? It was clear that he never faced the best pros that might of been amateur or he might of turned pro to face them in his prime from 1985-2000. They were in that era Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis.  

So who did he defeat in his career that later turned pro in the 1992 Olympics for Gold he defeated Danell Nicholson (United States) a close 13-11,and David Izon (Nigeria) 14-1. In the 1996 he defeated Luan Krasniqi (Germany) for gold by walkover and then David Defiagbon (Canada) 20-2. Then in 2000 he defeated for Gold Michael Bennett (United States) 23-8 and Sultan Ibragimov (Russia) 21-13. 

So there you have it—in three Olympics he beat six guys who later on turned pro.That were not that extraordinary as pros.

Some claim that he could have won a fourth Gold Olympic medal in 1988 if Cuba hadn't boycotted those games. To the contrary, I believe he would have had a very tough time, as Ray Mercer (United States) was the Gold medalist that year. In his fifteen year career Savon never faced anyone older than him. At that time, Mercer was 27 while Savon was 24; roles would have been reversed as Savon always came in with more experience than his opponents.

It is also a known fact that Savon defeated David Tua, Shannon Briggs, and Lamont Brewster by KO and TKO in regional and world amateur championships. Briggs summed it up best that he gave "Savon credit but it was like boys going against men." Briggs was 18 when he lost by KO to Savon, who was 28 at the time.

Previously that was all that we had on Savon's victories to those which had turned pro. Now we have the case of fellow recent Cuban heavyweight defector Odlanier Solis 17-0, 12 KO's as a pro.He defeated  Savon twice for the Cuban national amateur title while Savon's career was winding down. Solis will face Vitali Klitscho this spring for the  WBC Heavyweight belt. 

It's really unfortunate that we never got to see such talent go against the best at that time. One thing is for sure Cuban boxers nowadays aren't assuming or waiting  ask Solis, Gamboa, and Rigondeaux. They want to face the best and be the best in the pro ranks.                                             

Boxing fans there is a new world wide boxing league that is gaining momentum and revolutionizing the sport.It's called The World Series of Boxing a team boxing concept league that was created by the AIBA-Amateur International Boxing Association which the International Olympic Committee recognizes as the governing body for amateur boxing in the world.

The league has three divisions the Americas, Europe, and Asia, consisting of four teams in each division. The four teams of the WSB Americas division are the Miami Gallos,Los Angeles Matadors, Mexico City Guerreros and the Memphis Force.

Boxers were selected via draft prior to the opening of the regular season that runs from November 19, 2010 to March 18,2011. Playoffs will be held in April,while team and individual finals will be held in Macau, China in early May.

The amateur boxers were signed to individual teams for three years with salaries ranging from $20,000 to $60,000 and all expenses paid per year.These boxers even though being paid will retain their amateur status and will be allowed in Olympic and World Amateur Championships in the off season leading to participation in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Competitions are being held in five weight classes Bantamweight, Lightweight, Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Heavyweight.They are boxing without head gear for a total of 5 rounds at 3 minutes per round.Scoring is being determined by the 10 points per round "must" system like the pros.Winners per match also receive a $5,000 bonus.

In the WSB Americas division the Los Angeles Matadors are in first place.The Matadors are lead by U.S. Olympic Bantamweight standout Rau'Shee Warren and two lightweights that are 2-0, Eric Fowler of Houston, Texas and Everton Lopes of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

The Miami Gallos have former U.S. Olympic coach and former middleweight champion Jermaine Taylor trainer Pat Burns as Head Coach along with Assistant Coaches Joe Burns and Angel Nazario.They have been instrumental in the progress of league leading 2-0 heavyweight 24 year old Trent Rawlins, which has only been in the fight game for only about five years. Rawlins a former rugby player from Australia, which was the 2008 Australian Super Heavyweight National Champion has accredited his early success to his new coaches in Miami along with his long time coach back home Gerry Murphy.

VERSUS Network with Sean O'Grady as color commentator has signed on as official U.S. broadcaster.

For more in depth information follow the league at WWW.WORLDSERIESBOXING.COM

Cuba is famous for a large number of things including the Cuban Cigars and one of the most controversial leaders in history - Fidel Castro. But, on the sports front it is famous for producing the most fierce boxers in Olympic history. 

Cuba has performed exceptionally on the world stage in amateur boxing, and sits at the second position in all time medal winners list in the Olympics with 32 Gold medals for a total of 63 medals. 

India has never been the powerhouse in boxing at the world stage but in the last decade, India has started producing some world-class pugilists. A large portion of that credit can be claimed by Bhiwani - a small town in Haryana that has started treading on the same path as Cuba.

Set up by the double Asian Games gold medallist Hawa Singh, the Bhiwani Boxing Club or 'BBC' as it is called has transformed from being the brainchild of a passionate boxer to being the hotbed of boxing talent in the country. 

The credit for the success of BBC, a small town club is generally given to the Dronacharya award winning coach Jagdish Singh. His coaching methods, believed to be hard and uncompromising, are believed to be the reasons behind the success of the pugilists from this club.

The club had been quite successful since the beginning of the decade, with three of the four boxers who qualified from India for the Athens Olympics being from this club. However, the real recognition for the club came with the success of the boxers at the Beijing Olympics when two boxers, Akhil and Jitender reached the Quarter-finals and Vijender Kumar went one better to win the bronze medal. 

Akhil, a former commonwealth games gold medallist, one of the senior boxers at the club is considered by many to be the inspiration for many of the trainees at 'BBC'. The success of Vijender at the Olympics coupled with him being ranked No. 1 in the world currently has provided the town with a second rush of youngsters wanting to take up boxing at the club. 

This is quite evident from the fact that, along with the supposed old guard (although most of them are still quite young) of Akhil, Vijender, Jitender and Dinesh, a number of teenagers have started making their mark at the national and international level already. Vikas Krishan Yadav, a 18-year old and the reigning world youth champion, recently won the gold in the recently concluded Asian Games at Guangzhou. This just proves that the success of the club is built on a strong foundation and it was not just a lucky break to get some good boxers at the same time. 

The town has now become obsessed with boxing with all the parents now wanting their children to have successful boxing careers. It is now estimated that around 10% of all teenagers in the town are enrolled in boxing clubs. Since, the intake of the club is very limited and the number of aspirants greater, a number of private clubs have also cropped up in the area which has led to the creation of quite a competitive boxing scenario in the town. 

Although now boxing has started receiving a lot greater attention, there is still a long way to go. The facilities at the centre, being funded by the Sports Authority of India, are far from world class and one would cringe if one sees the condition of the room where potential world champions stay in. Although, the expenditure on coaches has improved many-fold, a small fraction of that on the facilities might go a long way. Many organisations like the Olympic Gold Quest have come forward to sponsor the top athletes, but more investment is needed at the ground level if we really want to make a difference. 

Boxing is now considered by many to be one of the best bets for a medal at the Olympics along with Shooting. The pugilists have already set sight on the winning the Olympic medals with Akhil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Vikas Krishan and Vijender Kumar being the main hopes but it would be foolish to ignore the emergence of a unknown name from the Bhiwani stable and surprise us in London 2012. 

If India wins a bagful of medals at London 2012, it should be thankful to people like Hawa Singh, Jagdish Singh and everyone at 'BBC' who has contributed in producing world-class boxers.

Saturday’s WBA heavyweight championship in Manchester, UK, produced the expected outcome; a comfortable victory for David Haye. The champion blitzed Audley Harrison in three rounds, with the challenger landing only a solitary punch throughout.  Haye entered the fight as the bookmakers’ 7-1 on favourite to retain his title, yet the response of the British media and public to the fight has ranged from derision to outrage. Why such an embittered reception to a result that was so widely anticipated?

A typical response can be found in Britain’s Sunday Mirror newspaper; under the indignant headline “What a FrAUD,” Harrison is decried as an “imposter” and the event itself as “a night of total embarrassment for British boxing”.

What the article fails to mention is that the night is also expected to be the most profitable in British boxing history, having sold out Manchester’s 22,000 capacity MEN Arena. The card is also likely to break domestic pay-per-view records for revenue and number of buys; such was the unprecedented level of demand that many viewers – this writer included – experienced delays for hours before the start as fight fans jammed box office telephone lines.

The outcry of sympathy for the hundreds of thousands who paid £15 ($24) to watch on PPV is misplaced; people wanted to watch the fight, they were not forced to. The reason is simple: Harrison mockery has become a near national pastime during the past decade, another example of the British tendency to overhype and build up heroes, only to viciously knock them down once they transgress.

This is not to absolve Harrison of responsibility for his reputation; he has more than earned the disdain of boxing fans by continually speaking of his “destiny” in winning the world heavyweight championship, despite doing nothing to support his claims. Following his 2000 Sydney Olympic win, Harrison was rewarded prematurely by the BBC with a £1 million ($1.6 million) ten-fight contract. Afforded the luxury of handpicking his opponents, Harrison followed each outlandish boast with lacklustre performances in the ring. When his paymasters grew tired of his failures and cut his deal, Harrison spoke of betrayal and accused the BBC of “borderline institutional racism.”

Because of this, much vitriol has been directed at David Haye for agreeing to fight Harrison and for failing to take on one of the Klitschko brothers. The latter issue is still to be resolved, but Haye would have been foolish not to take the Harrison fight; the British public all but demanded it. Harrison re-captured boxing headlines back in April when he became European champion via a 12^th round knockout of Michael Sprott. It was not long before the boxing and mainstream media – and of course, Audley himself – began to speak of him as a potential challenger for David Haye’s WBA title.

With Harrison’s four embarrassing losses to journeymen fighters – including Sprott – seemingly forgotten, the bandwagon continued rolling and demand kept rising until it became clear that the bout would be a significant money maker. Haye stood to receive his biggest ever pay day for what he believed would be an easy night’s work; frankly, the decision would have been a no-brainer.

As the hype machine rolled on in the UK, Nikolai Valuev, who Haye defeated to win the WBA title, sensibly stated that “the only thing Harrison can pray for is a miracle.” But his voice of reason was largely ignored as respected British sporting pundits from Oliver Holt to Des Lynam lined up to trumpet Harrison’s chance of winning. British heavyweight legends Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno – both world champions in their own right – even came forward to lend further credence to the notion that if Audley landed his big left, then anything could happen, as occurred spectacularly in the Sprott fight. Of course, this all happily ignored the fact that Michael Sprott is... well, Michael Sprott, whereas David Haye has won world cruiserweight and heavyweight titles. Even more laughably, some pundits talked up Haye’s chin as being a crucial factor in the fight, despite the fact that whilst Haye’s has been exposed once by Carl Thompson, a former WBO cruiserweight champion, Harrison had been wobbled on numerous occasions by near to club level fighters.

For his part, Harrison fuelled the fires with his usual expression of bravado, including the curious assertion that “David Haye doesn’t accept that he’s going to get hit, and when he does get hit, he’ll be knocked out.” In the event, Harrison was correct on one count: Haye was hit. Once.

This could all have been spared if we hadn’t been so credulously paid attention to Harrison’s idle threats and encouraged his delusions of grandeur. We had heard all of his boasts and predictions before, and they had always come to nought. There was no reason to believe otherwise on this occasion.

The British do indignation and moral outrage very well, but in this case there is no one else to blame but ourselves – there was certainly no clamour from the across the pond for the fight, which went largely unnoticed as Pacquiao and Margarito fought on the same night in Dallas’ Cowboys Stadium.  One cannot help but feel that despite all the hopeful claims, people knew that Harrison would lose, but wished to see his epic tragedy play out to its conclusion; from hero to laughing stock, from partial redemption to ultimate humiliation.

After all was done, Britain’s once revered Olympic gold medallist exited in the most ignominious of fashions, with chants from the Manchester crowd of “you’re sh*t and you know you are” resonating around the arena.  In all likelihood, it was what many of them had come hoping for the opportunity to do.

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquaio is taking two days off from his heightened training in Baguio City to grace some social functions in Metro Manila in line with his work as congressman representing the province of Sarangani in southern Philippines.

Pacquiao left coach Freddie Roach in Baguio City Saturday and will spend the night with his family in Metro Manila.

On Sunday morning, he will join some 120,000 runners in the “10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River,” a government/private sector project designed to raise people's consciousness on its efforts to clean up the river after years of neglect by previous governments.

After the Pasig run, Pacquiao will do some roadworks inside the Rizal Memorial Stadium where he also did some running exercises as part of his training when he fought Miguel Cotto last year.

Later in the afternoon, Pacquiao will join fellow congressmen from Visayas and Mindanao to a meeting with Philippine president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino apparently to persuade the chief executive to allocate more money to his constituency and to Visayas and Mindanao after it was reported that the 2011 national budget was tilted in favor of Luzon.

It may be recalled during the initial phase of his training that Pacquiao was shuttling between his office in congress and the Elorde Gym, in an apparent move to give equal time to his congressional duties and his training for the Margarito fight.

Again last week, Pacquiao traveled to Manila to attend a social function in Camp Aguinaldo were he is a reserved officer. He also spent some time with his daughter who was celebrating her fourth birthday in San Pedro City.

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach was left behind in Baguio City along with the Filipino boxer's sparring partners, Glen Tapia and Michael Medina, who were joined by Amir Khan a few days ago.

With the series of interruptions on Pacquiao's training schedules, it is interesting to note that Roach is not so much bothered this time compared to his tight grip on Pacquiao's training during his previous fights.

Some of Pacquiao's local fans are concerned about the series of training disruptions that are happening at the height of his training in Baguio City.

A certain zeus wrote this comment in the article source:

"Roach must have been very disappointed, he has been against with too many distractions during training, but look what's happening now. He just can't do a thing and power to stop it. They did not train like this before... travels, missing morning runs, day-off on a scheduled sparring day etc etc etc. What is Pacquiao thinking?"

"Pacman thinks he can recover from these 'no-training-days' when the team trains in Wild Card Gym, USA. Right now, he is dividing himself too much for training as a boxer and doing things as a public official, he added."

Some boxing critics say Roach is confident the Filipino boxer will have an easy victory over Antonio Margarito on November 13. And that is the reason why he often allows Pacquiao to skip training on special occasions.

Still others say Freddie Roach is just helpless at this time because of Pacquiao's social and political commitments as a government official.