What struck me was there was such a diverse range of people there watching a FREE sport, not a pay per view and its struck me that sky is as much to blame for the decline in the pub trade as much as petrol and beer.

Its been proved that when ITV showed Amir Khan boxing last, all the pubs were rammed. My first memory of a pub being full when boxing on is when Bruno fought Tyson in match one, the 2nd time was my first proper date in town with KF.  Amazing how the simple things trigger off bad or good memories.

I digress, the fact that there were londoners (snobby gits) and locals all watching a sport that normally is reserved only for those 2 weeks when wimbledone is on, cheering a scot was somewhat heart warming.  In no way was it a coming together of minds but even the most strictest of pubs in my area relent just a touch to let us all watch a great sporting moment.  Everyone clapped and applauded Murry on his victory.

After 8 deuces, doubt was cast on murry as he went down a couple of games.  The mental blockage of going back and forth should of put nadal in the lead for game set match, yet after a lull, if you can call it that in a game of such strength, murry came firing back and then it was Nadal frustrated, seemingly unable to break down the game to a power level and snap the opponent mentally.

With Murry now in the final, its time to do the British thing and cast doubt on his performance and if the training and stamina is up to those levels which the americans seem to constanly level at, bloody high. Sure the divide is lessening and we have made ground but why do we only have one player.

The americans and indeed other countries are constant but here in blighty we love our heros and to place everything on the shoulders of that one individual.  Perhaps its just the media and we do have people in the wings, waiting quietly to make a breakthrough, for 1 I personally hope so.  We seem to have a culture of one time winners whos whole career build up to that one moment and then retire. Kelly Holes and Damon hill are names off the top of the head.  Perhaps we do have  a system funded by the stealth tax that we all willingly call the national lottery, ready to provide us with hope in 2012 and thereafter but that conspiracy is for another post.

Personal Entry for those who come here via wordpress tags

On my blog regular reads I spotted this about me

Chatted a bit with SM last night - i’m worried about him but it’s hard to know what to say sometimes. He’s so down but won’t listen to any advice, and it’s immensely frustrating to watch him self-destruct.

From this website.  Interestig how a person who barely knows me can read me and worries me a touch, however she is right.  It wasnt until tonight that I found that the pillow case that was just washed is fucking mouldy in the front room, the one room thats clean and non damp which I now live in.

After thursday night Im more than lost. I am stuck here in a rut that normally I could think my way out of, execute a plan, come out from the brink.  I used to be able to do this and that quite easily but thats gone. Nothing scares me more now then when I look in the mirror, deep into my eyes and see, well, nothing. There is nothing there, just blackness. For the first time in a very long time, to say im scared... thats an understatement.

http://boxingbets.motionforum.net/forum.htm

How tragic Amir Khan was floored by Colombian Breidis Prescott...in the first round! Tragic! Khan, 21 knocked to the ground by a left hook from the Colombian. He appeared punch drunk but allowed to get up to continue, only to be sent back to the canvas again after a few seconds later.

I am oblivious to what is happening in the world since I've been very busy with work, and just noticed, it is day six of Ramadan. It has started earlier this year. The month of Islam is when the Quran was delivered to Muhammad. Anyway, I am getting to be interested in religion and seem to have been leaning towards Christianity and in particular Catholiscism. I don't know the exact reason, but I think the conversion of the ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair was an influence. I think I'll be blogging a little about the Catholic Christianity.

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Amir Khan last night fought in the biggest fight of his career against Breidis Prescott in front of a packed Manchester MEN Arena in Manchester, UK. This fight was his PPV debut on Sky Box Office and the one question that everyone had going into the fight was: What is Khan's chin like? Up to this point, no one had really tested Khan's chin to any great degree but Prescott is known for throwing bombs and this would be the test the critics were looking for. Watch the video to find out what happened...

UFC 88 live: Kim looked to have much the better of the first, looked more likely to finish the fight, Brown did a bit better late but it seemed to not be enough, Brown took the second clearly enough, and the third was really close, but I gave it to Kim for a 29-28 card. A split decision looked correct, and I think Brown, despite being disappointed about losing the bout, can have some pride in his performance given the line, where people thought that Kim -450 was worth hitting. More to come via edits in theory

Marquardt - Kampmann: got to love Marquardt's entrance music. Interested to see this matchup of two fighters that I saw live at UFC 85. WOW, awesome huge kick from Marquardt, then horrendously brilliant elbows from the clinch, and he's able to finish not too long after. Jesus, that was quick.

Henderson - Palhares: looking forward to this, if Palhares can get this to the ground, he can dominate, but that's a serious if imo. omg has ladies love cool james paid zuffa off? Big pops to Henderson prior to the fight. Cagey opening. Henderson catches him, Palhares unable to keep it on the ground, Henderson's power is surprising. Palhares' takedown attempts aren't being successful. Palhares trying some kicks, Henderson's takedown defense is excellent. Henderson's reach advantage is apparent, and is able to unload dangerously on occasions, noticably rocking Palhares. Palhares is finally able to get Henderson down, but not with long left in the round, and can't capitalise, but given longer, it looks like he will be able to. 10-9 Henderson. Second round sees Palhares shooting for takedowns, Henderson is initially able to prevent but hits a huge takedown eventually and is in Henderson's guard. Palhares is looking for a heelhook out of Henderson's closed guard, but Henderson is able to get back to his feet. Palhares looks to take it down, Henderson sprawling to keep it on the feet. Fight goes to floor with Henderson on top in closed guard. Still a dangerous position. After a while with nothing happening, it is stood up. Little happens in a round I score 10-9 Palhares. Awkward early, no huge advantage. Palhares trying some exotic kicks. Really not much happening, Henderson having the better of the striking. Will be hard to score if it stays like this. Really poor, Palhares has to try to do something imo. Good right overhands from Henderson. Palhares gets a takedown, but Henderson is able to roll out of it and get back to the feet. Palhares is able to get a leg on the ground after falling into a fortunate position, but Henderson's sprawling is good enough to evade any danger. Some big strikes from Henderson at the buzzer should be enough to give him the last 10-9 for a 29-28 decision. Couple of judges give it 30-27 which I think is a bit generous, but not ridiculously.

Bonus Tim Boetsch vs. Mike Patt action, after a "waste no time and say Randy's still the champ and omg he's on PPV" interview. Ergo, expecting a quick KO/sub. Not overly enthralled by this in what is a hugely, hugely stacked LHW division, but will see what happens. They're both going at it early, Boetsch looking better in striking, Patt looking to be carrying a bit too much weight imo. Boetsch floors Patt with a right hand, piles on and finishes from the mount very quickly. Well, it got promoted to the PPV for a reason :-)

Rich Franklin - Matt Hamill: think this fight is a lot more important for Hamill than Franklin tbh, if Franklin loses he can dive back to 185 and looked to job to Silva in the future, if Hamill loses, then what? Regardless, the tapout crew (whoever they are) need to die in a grease fire. Really cagey opening, trading occasional shots. I think Hamill has slightly the better of the first half of the round, but it's horribly close. Both fighters looking to utilise kicks as part of their striking repertoire, Franklin being more effective in that aspect. Franklin appears to have been cut somehow. Crowd is displeased, as Hamill springs a takedown. Looks for an armbar, but Franklin escapes, and lands a knee as he gets up. Hamill is cut as well. Very hard to score, Franklin had the better strikes, but Hamill had the takedown and looked closer to finishing, 10-10 imo, i'm not averse to giving tied rounds. Early in the second Hamill catches a leg following an attempted Franklin kick, but can't get a takedown as a result. Franklin getting some good striking early. Ref is unsure of Rich's cut, but they continue. Hamill trying to takedown Franklin again, but not succeeding and Franklin is hitting occasional big shots. Hamill appears to be the victim of a low blow and the ref gives him time. Soon after, they exchange scrappy blows, and clinch with Franklin hitting knees from it. Franklin seems to be getting the upper hand with a couple of minutes left. Hamill is not getting close to getting a takedown. Hamill tries to grab an ankle, but Franklin hops away. Clear 10-9 Franklin round. Franklin now looks the much more effective early in the third, and is able to floor Hammill with a kick and the ref stops really quickly afterwards for a round 3 TKO.

Chuck Liddell - Rashad Evans: urgh, i hate the way they're now trying to use statistics, especially because most of them appear meaningless. Evans looks really large for 205, especially compared to Franklin/Hamill previously. I'm excited about this fight, as excited as I was when I bought tickets for the event it was supposed to be on, lol. no, not cecil peoples! please somebody get knocked out! barely any action whatsoever early, first action of significance is a right from liddell after a couple of minutes. this reminds me of the liddell-jardine fight except without the leg kicks, evans is acting in a mayweather-esque manner but not counterpunching. there is literally nothing of note in the first round whatsoever. 10-9 Liddell, basically just on aggression and the last half minute where he seemed to corner Evans and hit a couple of times. Second round sees them actually exchange a flurry of punches early, roughly even. Evans seems to be coming into the fight a bit more. Evans then out of nowhere hits a one-punch KO. Wow.

omg bonus action, jason vs jason, lambert vs. mcdonald, to ground real quickly, lambert with a one-handed choke thing, but mcdonald pops out. in closed guard, hitting some strikes. Elbows later look better. Clearly superior on top. Then at the buzzer, Lambert gets a real good guillotine from the bottom, and given another fifteen seconds or so, would probably have subbed him, but as is we go to the second, 10-9 McDonald. Straight into a striking exchange in the second and McDonald gets into half guard. Passed to mount nicely, Lambert gives up back, McDonald gets triangle, then taps him via RNC

British boxer Amir Khan lost his unbeaten record in a shock first round knockout defeat as Breidis Prescott claimed the WBO Intercontinental lightweight title here on Saturday.

The little-known Colombian sent Khan to the canvas before following up and knocking out the Englishman to win the World Boxing Organisation belt at the MEN Arena.

Prescott needed just 54 seconds to knock out Khan, who got up after one knockdown only to be sent to the canvas moments later.

Here are selected Betting Odds for Boxing matches taking place on Saturday, Sept. 6 courtesy of Bodog

• Yoshimitsu Yashiro (-175) Vs. Hiroyasu Matsuzaki (+145)
  9.5 Rounds Over (-165) Vs. Under (+125)
• Koji Sato (-205) Vs. Keiji Eguchi (+165)
  9.5 Rounds: Over (-125) Vs. Under (-115)
• Alex Arthur (-450) Vs. Nicky Cook (+300)
  9.5 Rounds: Over (-225) Vs. Under (+185)
• Amir Khan (-1700) Vs. Breidis Prescott (+800)
  7.5 Rounds: Over (+215) Vs. Under (-275)
• Juan Diaz (-400) Vs. Michael Katsidis (+300)
  10.5 Rounds: Over (-145) Vs. Under (+105)
• Jorge Rodrigo Barrios (-135) Vs. Rocky Juarez (+105)
  11.5 Rounds Over (-325) Vs. Under (+250)

Get more Boxing content at Combat-hooligans.com

Quickly dubbed "two jabs" by boxing fans in a reference to his heavyweight namesake, Prescott's record may look impressive, but the vast majority of his opponents are extremely poor.

We know that Khan's chin may be a worry when he steps up the class of opposition (he was dropped by Michael Gomez last time out - the third time he's touched the canvas in his career) but Prescott's KO ratio is flattering. When he stepped up in his last fight (against an opponent 10-0-1) he was taken the distance. Given Khan's speed and his reported commitment to tightening up his defensive skills in training, a general 10/1 is not brilliant for Prescott to win by KO.

The only choice to make is how Khan will win. There seems little value in going with Khan by KO at a bet price of 1/6 given Prescott has never seemingly been knocked down.  Prescott is also matching Khan for height, which may help him cope with the onslaught, but the danger is the referee will stop the fight due to the gulf in class.

Recommendation:

Amir Khan by decision 9/1 with sportingbet 1pt

Amir Khan in rounds 10-12 14/1 with bet365 1/2 pt

Amir Khan returns to the ring this weekend, against Breidis Prescott, an unknown Colombian without a wikipedia page who ranks a lowly 111th in the world at lightweight according to boxrec.com's rankings (Khan, by comparison, is seventh). I don't get the point of this fight, just looks like they're feeding him another can, albeit a can with a perfect record. Still, at least it'll be another one out of the way before he starts fighting for something more important than an intercontinental title.

More exciting is UFC 88, where for the first time in a while, pretty much the entire card is of interest, including much of the undercard. Headlining is Chuck Liddell, against a dangerous undefeated opponent in Rashad Evans, albeit one that stylistically should be a great matchup. I'm not sure that I like betting Liddell at the line that it's at, but I can't see a way for Evans to win either. I'll pass on this one, but will take Chuck by decision.

Rick Franklin steps back up to 205 to face Matt Hamill. Not sure what the purpose of that is, maybe he's realised that he can't beat Silva, I don't know. Still, Franklin figures to win this one, against Hamill who really needs to do something after his career took a big backstep after a horrible decision against Bisping.

Karo Parisyan against Yoshiyuki Yoshida is probably for my money the weakest fight on the main card, I'm just not overly interested. I think Yoshida is worth a small punt though. More interesting is Dan Henderson, fighting at 185 against Rousimar Palhares. Henderson's taken some knocks in his last couple of fights, losing to Jackson at 205 and Silva at 185. Palhares is nowhere near as good as these, but is ridiculously dangerous on the ground and ought to be a favourite should it get there. Question is whether he can, Henderson ought to have the better of stand-up, and his wrestling background is unquestioned. I like a small bet on Palhares, but I am a fanboy so take that with a pinch of salt. Last on the main card is Nate Marquardt against Martin Kampmann. Marquardt goes in as favourite, but I think this'll be closer than the line suggests, mainly because I think Kampmann is overrated. Undercard is full of interesting stuff as well, check it out, I don't think there's a real bad matchup there at all.

Beer:

51 - Harviestoun Game Burd (4.1%) - 4.5, overpoweringly peppery and spicy, simply not good.

52 - Millstone Crown and Anchor (4.3%) - 8, light and pleasant with touches of hops and fruit, goes down very well.

53 - Oakham Ales Inferno (4.0%) - 6.5, solid if sourish pale ale

54 - Hornbeam Horns and Halos (4.0%) - 6, heavy, earthy and bland

If you thought Newcastle United's policy on changing coaches was something new, a look to Arthur's years as a professional fighter would show an equal eagerness to switch trainers. Harrison, Roach and McCullough are the three most high-profile custodians of the precarious post but it feels like their have been half a dozen more.

His fight with Nicky Cook is symbolic of the feeling of anti-climax his much touted career has generated, certainly with this observer. As one of Sky Sports heavily promoted young prospects back when they were closely aligned with all things Sports Network - which just shows, what goes around comes around - Arthur was widely implanted in the psyche of boxing fans. A tumultuous defeat to a rampant and unrepentant Michael Gomez remains the most important fight on his resume, a strange thing to conclude? Well ask any boxing aficionado to name an opponent Arthur has faced and I'd venture, without exception, they would say the mercurial Mancunian who dumped Arthur in 5 breathtaking rounds in 2003.

"But I'm a world-champion!" Arthur might argue. With all due respect Alex you were awarded the belt because the champion vacated, and though you did win the interim belt prior to that, only in these fractured times could you claim to be anything other than a top-10 contender. 4 belts, with some of those 4 sanctioning bodies willing to suspend common sense to anoint interim and super champions not to mention 'champions in recess', demeans the value of the strap and makes a mockery of those that use it to proclaim themselves as a "world-champion".

Whatever acronym you place after your name; IBF, WBC, WBA or IKEA, you have to beat a champion or a procession of legitimate contenders to become a world-champion. In Nicky Cook, Arthur faces a tough, strong opponent but one without any championship history at the weight and one failed attempt at the WBO Featherweight strap on his resume. A gatekeeper to respect he isn't.

"Who wants to be a pub quiz question about losing a title you've never fought to win?"

Jim Watt

It isn't going to elevate Arthur beyond his current B-class status whatever the result. Boxrec.com rank him #6, the IBO #3, BoxingNews #7 and the Ring #6. Arthur needs a wily veteran like Marco Antonio Barrera or a young banger like Edwin Valero to validate his otherwise spurious claim to be a world-champion.

Of course, he wouldn't be the first fighter to be awarded a world-title belt and then be ousted, Ken Norton and Lovemore N'Dou are two examples that spring to mind, and Arthur does at least distinguish himself from N'Dou having beaten Stephen Foster, barely, late last year in a second 'Interim World-title fight'.

Wayne McCullough, Arthur's current trainer - though I haven't checked today, is insistent Arthur has the ability to become a three-weight champion and perhaps it is because fans have seen flashes of the same talent that they grow frustrated at Arthur's level of opponent. With no disrespect to either Foster, who gave a game effort against a weight drained Arthur,  or Cook who is a gritty professional and will afford stiff resistance to Arthur this Saturday neither of these British foes are legitimate top-10 contenders at 130 pounds.

Arthur, McCullough and guiding hand Frank Warren must all be as acutely aware of this as the fans are. For the record, if Arthur has squeezed himself sensibly down to 9st 4lb he should outlast Cook and have the greater hand-speed and selection of punches to potentially stop the Essex man late.

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To be fair to Frank Maloney, he is one of the most high-profile figures I've seen post on boxing forums. He was a regular, and relatively frank - if you'll excuse the pun - contributor to DogHouseBoxing once upon a time. I haven't visited the site for a long time, plotting a course through the minefield of adverts, spy-ware and pop-ups just proves too much for my simple mind these days, but I don't believe he does anymore.

I always found his candid submissions were valuable and I respected him for affording the time to reach out to his core market. For a while it stopped the tongue-in-cheek criticism of the whims of this body of fans, for that is, after all, what these posters are, fans. In his latest release, which details the intentions for his Lightweight prospect John Fewkes and their rejection of an offer to fight Amir Khan this weekend for a purse of £40,000 earlier in the summer, Maloney turns to the anoraks to try and create some buzz about Fewkes' fight with Martin Gethin for the English title.

As a viral release it ticks all the boxes, name-checking Amir Khan and chastising the 'anoraks' in the knowledge those two facets will generate more circulation of the PR than Fewkes could muster on his own. Exciting prospect though he is. Maloney, as always, use every club in the bag to promote a fight.

The press release follows, without alteration, but presented more cleanly.

***************************************************************************

PRESS RELEASE

JOHN FEWKES turned down £40,000 to be Amir Khan’s opponent in Manchester on Saturday night. Instead Britain’s TOP lightweight prospect, Fewkes will challenge Martin Gethin for the vacant English crown at Nottingham’s Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre on Friday.

Frank Maloney, promoter of the unbeaten Sheffield boxer spoke to John’s manager Glyn Rhodes and the pair decided it wasn’t the right time to face Khan. Maloney and Rhodes both believe that Fewkes is a much better fighter than Khan and when the big rivals do eventually meet it will be one of British boxing’s biggest ever lightweight showdowns.

Maloney explained: “Yes, the money on offer is good, but nowhere near enough for a pay-per-view event where you are the star attraction. John is likely to be the next mandatory for British championship and when he wins that title, a clash against Amir will be worth six figures to him.”

There has been criticism aimed at Team Fewkes on various internet sites for turning down the Khan offer. But angry Maloney snapped back: “A lot of these people on internet message boards are ill informed and anoraks hiding behind a computer."

“Boxing is all about timing, and now is not the time for John to be facing Khan for derisory money. I shouldn’t read the internet, but it is one of those things that you looks at because it is part of modern day life and made wannabes all experts.”

Friday’s 12-fight bill is topped by Leicester’s Rendall Munroe who makes the second defence of his European bantamweight title against French based Armenian Arsen Martirosian.

For tickets for this top night of action call 0871 226 1508 or log on to www.frankmaloney.com

[ENDS]

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Not to mention the defection of Derry Matthews to Hayemaker Promotions and the none appearance of Enzo Maccarinelli who was once mooted for the bill too. To be fair the recruitment of George Arias to face Audley Harrison, given the short notice of the assignment, is better than expected but the supporting cast for Khan's debut as a PPV attraction lacks any luster or substance.

Alex Arthur versus Nicky Cook is a solid if unspectacular contest, carrying a world-title belt despite neither man ever having beaten a top-ten Super-Featherweight and in Cook's case never having fought at the weight in a title contest, domestic or otherwise.

Khan has much to do to justify the expense and inferred promotion to PPV status. On paper, the whole bill is woefully short of 50-50 bouts or any fights of the requisite meaning - and the withdrawals are not making the case for purchasing the show any easier to make.

Sport Network's resident matchmaker, Dean Powell will probably have the warmest mobile phone in the UK this week as he seeks to reconstruct the under-card to help merit the £14.99 Sky Sports are asking existing subscribers to stump up to see the show.

If the remains of the original bill are anything to go by he may need to add Holyfield v Tyson III as a special attraction to tempt those looking to make an anti-PPV stance on this one.

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Even with Manny Pacquiao out of the picture and chasing after the Oscar that lays the golden eggs, the Lightweight division will be just fine- especially if the upcoming fights in September are any indication.

Here's a look at the four major Lightweight bouts in September and a guide of what to look for in each:

September 6th: Juan Diaz vs Michael Katsidis

There's no world title on the line for this one, but the winner will be sure to get a shot- possibly by year's end. Both Diaz and Katsidis are coming off of nasty losses at the hands of veterans, previously thought to have one foot out the proverbial Boxing door: "Baby Bull" Diaz was "out-bulled" by Nate Campbell in a brutal inside war while Katsidis came into his fight the favorite to beat Casamayor and was TKO'd by the same guy many were insisting was finished in the sport.

Whatever the case here, this fight will be a war- a live, human version of Rock ,em Sock ,em Robots.

What to look for:

Warrior or Worrier?

Both fighters were somewhat emasculated in their last fight. What's going to happen when either of them gets hit hard or stunned in this fight? What happens if/when there's a knockdown? The mental toughness of both fighters will be put into question in this fight.

Baby Got Back

Just look at their backs if you want to see in which direction the fight is going- Whoever's back eventually finds itself against the ropes is losing the fight. The absolute key to this fight is in imposing their will on their opponent. Katsidis needs room to throw those big shots and Diaz needs to push forward to apply pressure. So, the fighter who eventually gets pushed to the ropes will be the one losing control of the fight.

September 6th: Amir Khan vs. Breidis Prescott

This is the least essential fight of the four fights mentioned here, but it could be the most interesting. Amir Khan is the biggest prospect in the division and this fight, in many ways, will be his biggest test to date. This will be the first fight where Khan will not be able to cruise to victory on physical ability alone. He will have to win this fight with skill and technique.

Prescott is a lot like most Colombian fighters- tough power-punchers with a boatload of technical flaws. However, Prescott will brawl and throw tons of leather and if Khan's not ready for this fight and doesn't come in focused, he will be looking up at the lights.

What to look for:

Lets Get Ready to Rumble:

Is Khan ready for a two-fisted brawler as young, as tall and as hungry as he is? We'll find out.

September 13th: Nate Campbell vs. Joan Guzman

Guzman is moving up to try and take the WBA, WBO and IBF titles that Campbell ripped away from Juan Diaz in one of the shockers of the year. The weight issue should be minimal since Guzman allegedly tips the scales as high as 147 in his normal, day to day, life.

Campbell has always talked a good game, but has never been a consistant performer in the ring. Sometimes he looks fantastic, sometimes he just looks like a decent ESPN2 fighter. Guzman, on the other hand, has shown world-class talent, but has been inactive and unsure of exactly what his fighting style is.

What to look for:

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover:

With his long reach and quick hands, Nate Campbell looks like a boxer while Joan Guzman, a Mike Tyson look alike, with his bravado, looks like a brawler. Neither is true. Campbell loves to brawl while Guzman will take flight at a moment's notice.

The key here will be being able to lure their opponent into fighting a different style. If you see Campbell chasing Guzman, Campbell will lose; If you see fierce exchanges, Guzman will lose.

Space: The Final Frontier:

Look for the distance between both fighters. If Campbell can keep Guzman relatively close, then he has a good chance of pulling off the victory. If he can't keep Guzman within arm's reach, it will be a long night for him.

September 13th: Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez

For those wanting to write a textbook on good, technical boxing, this will be the fight to watch.

Marquez is moving up in weight to take on reigning Ring champ, Joel Casamayor.

Casamayor was thought to be washed-up after his awful performance against Santa Cruz in '07, but he put those doubters to shame by outclassing and taking out the younger, more aggressive Michael Katsidis.

Marquez lost a disputed decision to Manny Pacquiao in his last fight, but was competitive throughout and had actually hurt the consensus Pound for Pound king a few times.

What to look for:

Matador or Bull?:

At this stage of his career, Casamayor feels much more comfortable being the matador in his fights- stepping aside in the face of aggression and countering smartly. However, Marquez is a controlled fighter in all areas of style and temperament. There is no wasted movement or over-indulgence in Marquez's game, so if Casamayor is looking to counter a Marquez mistake or generally play matador, he will be in trouble.

To win this fight, Casamayor needs to be a bit of a bull and push the fight on the naturally smaller Marquez. Does he have the energy left in his game to do so? We'll see.

The "Weighting" is the Hardest Part:

For a veteran fighter who is not abnormally gifted with power or speed, a move up in weight is a big deal. How will Marquez handle the weight against a guy in Casamayor who is a natural Lightweight? What will happen when/if Marquez gets hit flush and hard by Casamayor when a faded and smaller Marco Antonio Barrera seriously buzzed Marquez? Again, we'll just have to wait and see.

*********

So, while the Welterweights and Catchweight fights get most of the press, The Lightweights will be doing the hard work of actually fighting one another.

The month of September will be burning with important Lightweight fights and no matter who wins those battles, its the fans who will be the winners.

In Thailand, there is no PPV

By Oliver Fennell

There is a lot to be thankful for in living in a tropical developing country: plenty of sunshine, a cost of living that comes in at about a quarter of the UK, and the lack of a ubiquitous presence of television in society rendering such concepts as pay-per-view sports unfeasible.

Which got me thinking: here in Thailand, not everybody has a TV set, let alone a cable subscription. The few who do have a cable subscription with the full complement of movie and sports channels pay about a third of what they’d pay for similar from Sky in Britain. And in recent months they have gotten, among others, Margarito-Cotto, Hatton-Lazcano, Calzaghe-Hopkins and Pacquaio-Diaz for their money – all fights which were on PPV in either Britain or the United States.

Obviously there is a reason why things are cheaper in developing countries, but surely the rights to broadcast major international boxing cost much the same anywhere in the world? In which case, how does a cable TV provider in a poor country, which would have a significantly smaller take-up than, say, Sky or HBO, afford these contests which, in the developed world, viewers are asked to pay a further £15 or $50 a time for.

Inevitably, the thrust of this piece is the outrageous decision to out Amir Khan’s next fight on PPV in Britain. But it is not actually a rant against PPV in general, despite my thinking out loud on the subject above. PPV in Britain is a permanent fixture. I accept that, and more often than not I gladly stumped up these extra-curricular costs while I lived there.

But putting anything less than a top-level world champion and/or A-list big name on PPV really is taking the proverbial. And Khan’s next fight is for the WBO Inconsequential title against an opponent that had even the sport’s biggest anoraks rushing to log on to BoxRec.com when his name was announced. Not to mention Khan’s name value, while admittedly considerable, is not even close to that of Hatton, De La Hoya or Tyson, to name three men who have typically been afforded PPV status in recent years regardless of the opponent.

I say typically, because even De La Hoya’s last fight went on standard-subscription HBO and Sky, and while it was indeed an “event” rather than a competitive match, at least his opponent, former world champion and Contender alumnus Steve Forbes, had both pedigree and a recognisable name. Khan’s September 6 opponent, Breidis Prescott of Colombia, has neither.

Of course my argument is nothing that has not already been expressed ad infinitum by other indignant fans. The internet’s boxing message boards are abuzz with negativity, there is an anti-PPV/anti-Khan v Prescott petition doing the rounds, and even Boxing News, criticised by some for perceived editorial caution, dared to run a negative piece about the affair on one of its blogs.

But I felt I had to counter Andrew Mullinder’s previous commentary on the matter here at BoxingWriter.co.uk. He essentially argues that nothing in life is free, and our criticisms of this – and any other PPVs – naively miss this fact. He tries a little bit of emotional blackmail to back up his argument, reminding us that every fight carries an inherit risk of the ultimate sacrifice for our entertainment. He also puts on his economic analyst’s hat by pointing out the various costs and financial risks involved in staging and broadcasting any boxing show.

And he’s right on each front, but boxing existed – no, thrived – on terrestrial TV for decades, despite all the costs and risks. The nature of broadcast media has changed, of that there is no doubt, but the arguments Mullinder puts forward as justification for Khan-Prescott coming with a £15 price tag are hardly modern concepts. Boxers have risked their lives and promoters have risked their money ever since the commercial potential of public bloodshed was recognised centuries ago.

No argument comes without a few good insults – my own mother taught me that much and led by example – and so Mullinder reaches for his weapons, pulling out the big guns of “arrogant”, “absurd” and “odious” to describe his opponents and their desire for “free entertainment.

I won’t do likewise and counter with some name-calling of my own, as Mullinder’s argument is presented with much finer direction than many of the message board mainstays he criticises (even if I agree with them), but I will point out the flaws in his reasoning.

Correct, there is no such thing as free entertainment. Watching boxing on standard Sky Sports is far from free. Your taxes and your license fee make watching it on BBC far from free. Even on ITV, where Khan built his reputation, it strictly speaking is not free, because the channel is funded by advertising, which essentially is paid for by you, the consumer of the products advertised. If likening the situation to a food chain seems convoluted, it is better than Mullinder treating us like autistic children and attempting to lead us by the hand around the zoo, reading the information plaques for us, but then getting the species’ names wrong.

Finally, he suggests the injection of PPV cash helped save his beloved sport, as it paid the boxers and promoters the required amount to make the best matches. On the contrary, is it a coincidence that British boxing faded almost into insignificance at the same time as the likes of Lewis, Bruno and Hamed migrated to the format? Is it also a coincidence that British boxing’s recent resurgence – both in terms of popular appeal and world-level success – came at the same time as terrestrial television renewed an interest in the sport, primarily on the backs of Audley Harrison and Khan’s Olympic exploits, but also showcasing the likes of Joe Calzaghe, David Haye, Junior Witter, Enzo Maccarinelli, Scott Harrison, Herbie Hide, and more.

PPV money is all well and good, but the long-term benefits of making boxing available to as wide an audience as possible is undeniable. It could be argued that Khan would not even have been considered for PPV if he had not first been made famous by terrestrial TV. And before anybody fires back that Hatton was built into a PPV attraction exclusively on digital TV, consider he didn’t actually headline a Sky Box Office event until he fought Kostya Tszyu. Khan-Prescott at £15 is the equivalent of having put some of Hatton’s more water-treading WBU episodes on Sky Box Office.

Boxing fans, despite Mullinder’s suggestion, are not naïve. They realise PPV boxing is here to stay. They don’t mind paying £15 for competitive, top-level, genuine world title action such as Hatton-Tszyu or Hatton-Mayweather or Lewis-Tyson, or even “special events” such as Tyson-Francis. What they object to is being asked to pay extra for a bill which is no better than standard ITV or Sky Sports fare. It’s like getting used to paying £15 to eat out, and then suddenly your wife starts charging you the same price for home-cooking.

Luckily, here in Thailand, it’s cheap enough to eat out every night. And did I mention there was no pay-per-view boxing?

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There’s no such thing as a free punch

By Andrew Mullinder

It does not take much tinder and puff to get the flames of anti-pay-per-view feeling among boxing fans burning hotter than a car fire on a council estate. Anyone who visits boxing forums regularly, therefore, should not have been surprised that Frank Warren’s decision to put Amir Khan’s next fight on PPV managed to incite more misplaced indignation than a bared nipple at Superbowl half time.

Of course, Warren has shifted boxing’s established paradigms before: in Britain it was thought only free-to-air TV channels could build a boxer’s following until he made Ricky Hatton a national hero on subscription channel Sky Sports.

But this time Warren’s Lazarus impersonation looks ominously like the real thing. It is hard to believe that a virtual novice – even one as recognised as Khan – fighting in a non-title affair against an opponent unknown to the general public will generate enough buys to make the show work. And even if it does work, what damage will be done to Khan’s long term appeal and recognition by only letting a few thousand see him on a regular basis?

However, while erudite commentators like Steve Kim and Thomas Hauser have argued cogently against the sense of current PPV strategies, this only represents a small portion of the complaints of the forum posters, and past form suggests that even this is in most cases a stalking horse for their main gripe. In the same way that middle aged prudes complain about the morals rather than the commercial sense of nudity on TV, the brood of forum posters cluck endlessly about the evils of PPV rather than addressing the real (and more interesting) crux, economics.

Simply, a sizeable portion of boxing fans do not see why they should have to pay to watch their favourite sport; promoters, they argue in a roundabout way, are treating boxing fans like absentee landlords treat impoverished tenants, squeezing them for every penny while providing little in the way of service. It is not purely because Khan’s assignment lacks the fizz of preceding PPV shows, it merely represents a new opportunity to bemoan the reality boxing is an industry, not free and on the NHS (National Health Service).

But why? Every other form of entertainment I can think of charges people to view it, so why should boxing be different? Boxers work in a dangerous trade, putting their lives on the line during every fight. Promoters must organize an event efficiently and sell it skilfully to make it pay. Television companies take huge financial risks to bring shows to our screens. Like all other actors in open economies, they should be free to make as much profit as the market will bear from their toils, skills and risks. If the product is no good, or the price is too much, they will have to adjust their practices or go out of business. Why do boxing fans believe they should be insulated from the rules of the real world? When did they start expecting something for nothing?

The arrogance intrinsic to the implication that boxing fans ‘deserve’ free entertainment is both absurd and odious. The unwillingness to grasp the simple fact organisations like Sky Sports and Sports Network will only promote boxing matches if there is the incentive of profit is risible.

In fact, I would go further and argue that PPV and subscription TV, far from being the equivalent of the cigar-smoking capitalists in Marxist cartoons, have actually saved my beloved sport. As boxing’s mainstream appeal faded, it disappeared from terrestrial (network) television, which may have led to a slow death. Subscription TV injected money into the sport and gave it a home. Without HBO in America and Sky in the UK, where would boxing be? Who would provide the big money to put fights together? The tooth fairy no doubt.

The righteous indignation of those supercilious fans who invade boxing forums before PPV events is as misplaced as the townswomen’s guild members who always seem to be moaning about broadcast standards: just as the dears at the women’s guild can turn off the TV if they think some nudie bump and rub is on the way, so boxing fans can choose not to buy PPV.

And isn’t that a better way to register dissatisfaction than blubbing on a boxing forum anyway?

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Sports Network and Frank Warren fighters, which are two separate entities it would seem, never lose to imported South Americans - and lucrative cash cow Amir Khan is unlikely to break that tradition on his PPV debut.

In anticipation of a hosts of examples of this phenomenon, Warren fighters losing to imported opponents, being duly pointed out to me I've tried to contemplate the last time a SN/FW headliner lost a show-topping bout. Hatton, Calzaghe, Scot Harrison, Matt Skelton, Kevin Mitchell, Amir Khan, Johnny Nelson. Perhaps Harrison's loss to Medina? Its a rare occurrence.

A brief two rounds of action is all YouTube has to offer and though they show Prescott is a competent young fighter, they also show a man who doesn't throw straight punches, and is wide open to fast counters when he lets his own wide hooks go. He doesn't appear to have a great deal of lateral movement either. The video below is of his most recent contest, his first venture out of Colombia and a 10-round win by Split-Decision against Richard Abril.

Installed as a prohibitive 1/20 favourite with some bookmakers, I would imagine only Tyson v McNeeley or Tyson v Douglas perhaps, could claim such lopsided odds for a PPV show, Khan is likely to prove too fast for the Colombian. I appreciate 2 rounds is precious little to judge upon. But it failed to weaken my resolve.

Obviously, SKY will seek to find an angle and in their first production on the lanky Colombian, they focused on his gritty, spartan existence and the presumed hunger it engenders referencing fellow countryman Ricardo Torres' place on the roster of former inhabitants of Prescott's gym. There were certainly similarities between Prescott and Torres offence, but it will be Prescott's 6ft 1frame that will catch the eye - his long slender body will not have gone unnoticed by Khan and his new trainer.

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It's shocking, but true. When Saif Ali Khan thought of buying a new house, he made a conscious decision that he would not approach a Hindu housing society for fear of being rejected. That's a superstar of the country talking.

Our sources in the construction industry say that Saif did approach a few Hindu housing societies and was rejected –- despite being a superstar. Saif, however, says that he went straight to a Muslim builder to buy his dream house. "I know there are localities and building societies that won't sell real estate to anyone who's a Muslim. I went to a Muslim builder to avoid complications."

Saif insists that the problem of communal segregation is very real. "And it's not restricted to building societies in Mumbai, it's there in society in general. It's common knowledge that in certain areas of Juhu and Bandra land and houses are not sold to Muslims. I'm constantly surprised by how much religion matters to some people here. Perceptions of religion are always based on experience or fanaticism. Some elements have spoilt things for the entire community. That's the sad truth about Islam,” says the star who has bought a 4-BHK apartment in La Beau in Bandra.

Saif's dad is a Muslim, and mom a Hindu. "I've been brought up to believe in the oneness of God. In some places He is known as Jesus. In other places He is known as Bhagwan or Allah.  And in some places He is known as Shah Rukh Khan."

Reacting to the extremist diktat that none of the Khans must act in Hindi films, Saif says, "I'd rather get shot than not do a shot! I'd have a tough time finding another job. There's nothing I can do apart from acting."

Others who’ve faced the heat

Muslim stars have always had problems while buying houses in certain areas between Andheri and Bandra. Emraan Hashmi, Arbaaz Ali Khan, Zeenat Aman, Sophie Chowdhury and Aamir Ali have been through this grind too.

Sophie Chowdhury house-hunted for over two years.There were times that she almost finalised the deal, but when she revealed her identity, the deal was cancelled.

Arbaaz Ali Khan was refused a house on Perry Cross Road in Bandra. Similarly, Zeenat Aman had to look for a flat for over three months before she could buy a house in Juhu. Ditto Emraan Hashmi. Aamir Ali's hunt for a house took over a year. He even filed a court case over this issue.

21 Aug 2008, SUBHASH K JHA ,TNN

Salman stops smoking for Sikhs

Salman Khan may be a Muslim but he respects every single religion as is evident by his feelings expressed in regards to the same during his interviews and 10 Ka Dum episodes.

The painter in him also displays his religion tolerance side through his paintings. Most of his paintings combine two religions together. Like his most famous painting which has the image of Jesus Christ along with a mosque.

But Salman also chooses to practise what he preaches. A source close to him revealed us more about it, "Salman is playing a Sikh character in Samir Karnik's Heroes. His character sports a turban in the film like Sikhs do.

So involved was he with his turbaned Sikh character that he refrained himself from smoking whenever he was on the sets sporting the turban.

When his co-stars and director tried to find out the reason, Salman told them Sikhs consider smoking unsociable and dirty. So it was out of his sheer respect for the community that he was not smoking when he had his turban on for the role of a Sikh."

Salman Khan's family is a symbol of National Integration. His dad, writer Salim Khan is married to a Maharashtrian, Hindu. His brother Sohail and Arbaaz have married a Hindu and a Christian respectively. His sister Alvira too has married a Hindu. No wonder Salman respects all the religions and millions of fans from all the religions!

SantaBanta

Indian polity is being unfair to Muslims, says Shabana Azmi

New Delhi: In a stinging attack on the country’s polity, film actress-turned-social activist Shabana Azmi has accused it of being “unfair” to Muslims, making only “token gestures,” instead of addressing the real issues.

She also targeted the Muslim leadership, saying it had not bothered to “clear the air about what Islam actually is” and contended that Muslims should change the image of their religion and community.

Asked on Karan Thapar’s ‘Devil’s Advocate’ show on CNN-IBN whether the country’s politics had been “unfair” to Muslims, Ms. Azmi replied, “yes.”

On whether it was individual politicians, the system or political parties that were to blame, she said, “I think there is not enough understanding of the fact that in a democracy how you treat the security of the minority must be an important part of its success.”

“You can’t make only token gestures and actually let them be in the state that they are as the Rajinder Sachar Committee report shows. So what happens is that token gestures are made, but real issues are never addressed.”

Asked whether she would say that Muslims were “victims of discrimination,” she said she could not buy a flat in Mumbai “because I am a Muslim.” She said she had read that the same had happened to actor Saif Ali Khan.

On what being a Muslim meant to her, Ms. Azmi said: “I’ve been raised in a very liberal, bohemian family in which religion has not played any part at all. For me, being a Muslim really was about Urdu, about eating biryani and wearing shararas on Id. So the cultural aspect of me was Muslim otherwise, because I am not religious, the religion did not matter. After the riots following the Babri Masjid demolition, I suddenly had people saying, you are a Muslim and hurling it as an accusation … it was a self-consciousness that I have never before experienced … [what] it made me do is say ‘yes, I am Muslim and what do you want to do about it?’ That, I can say, is increasingly happening, particularly in the western world. A lot of young kids today are wearing the burqa, are taking on an identity which really they don’t feel. Just because when you push somebody against the wall that’s what they come up with”

Ms. Azmi, who is a five-time National Film Award winner, emphatically said that Muslims did not need their “own leaders” and to press her point she cited that Jawaharlal Nehru was “a leader for Muslims and that’s the way it should be.”

She accused the politicians of promoting a stereotypical image of the Muslim community and not allowing moderate, liberal Muslim voices to be heard.

“You look at all the politicians, whether it is Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whether it is Indira Gandhi, whether it is anybody, the minute it is a Muslim question, you will get the ‘dariwaralas’ and only all the Maulvis to speak,” said the former Member of Parliament.

Ms. Azmi observed that the moderate liberal voice was witnessing a resurgence in the country unlike in the past.

Ms. Azmi said she viewed “with exasperation, anger, hurt and bewilderment” the way the West looked upon Islam as a threat and treated Muslims as figures of fear and hate.

Talking against the backdrop of violent protests in Jammu and Kashmir over the Amarnath land transfer row, she cautioned that it could create differences between Hindus and Muslims elsewhere in the country and said the crisis should be brought to an end.

“Yes, and if our politicians haven’t woken up to it yet they really don’t know what’s happening,” she said when asked whether the situation in that State was a challenge to the country’s integrity and future.

She emphasised that “the Indian Muslims were in a safer place because the Indian Muslim has a stake and space in Indian democracy.”

“It’s a very huge thing that we are a part of a democracy and Indian Muslims can aspire to become a Shahrukh Khan or an Irfan Pathan or the President of India and that makes the Muslims far more hopeful and far less in despair than in other parts of the world,” the actor said.

The Hindu, Aug 17, 2008

A reporter caught up with Ricky earlier this week at his training spa in Manchester, "If the fight happens i'd be up for the challenge", "And if I could promote it, even better. Amir would get the financial rewards he deserves. Amir has got bags of potential, but he has alot of catching up to do".

Khan told a local newspaper that he would be willing to make the weight in order to fight in the most biggest match Manchester has ever seen! Amir was quoted yesterday from his spa in west london as saying,"It would be a massive fight. Both of us come from Manchester and it is a fight that people would want to watch!".