Sports Then and Now

The Rumble in the Jungle proved to be a pivotal moment in the careers of both Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

While the greatest victory of Muhammad Ali’s career was perhaps over the U.S. Government, it could certainly be argued that he had no greater win in the boxing ring than his victory over George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle 43 years ago on October 30, 1974.

Though the 32-year old Ali had been a great champion, he had lost more than three years at the peak of his career due to his battle with the U.S. Government and in the three years since his return to the ring had never quite reached the level of greatest displayed earlier in his career.

He had posted a 15-2 record since returning to the ring and avenged both defeats, but the undefeated 25-year old Foreman was 40-0 in his career and wasn’t just winning fights, he was demolishing opponents.

Ali’s two defeats had been to Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. Foreman’s fights with both Frazier and Norton ended in the second round. He knocked Frazier down six times before their fight was finally stopped. Norton, who had famously broken Ali’s jaw in their first fight, was knocked out by Foreman in the second round.

There are many things about the Rumble in the Jungle that are now famously part of boxing lore.

One thing that made the fight notable was that it was being fought in Zaire, Africa. Ali had fought oversees several times previously, but never in Africa.

Also, it was the first major fight promoted by Don King. He would, of course, become known for creating boxing spectacles, but the Rumble in the Jungle would be the first exposure for many to the flamboyant King.

The fight was originally set for September 25^th, but Foreman suffered a cut while sparing less than 10 days before the fight and they were forced to postpone for more than a month.

Though the extra time allowed Foreman to heal, it actually worked in Ali’s favor as he spent much time with the people and was embraced by local residents while Foreman was not happy with the surroundings.

The term “Ali, bomaye” (Ali kill him) became a popular chant by the locals and when the fight finally happened the atmosphere was clearly an advantage for Ali.

Many expected Foreman to make short work of Ali and he indeed connected on some big punches in the early going of the fight. That Ali didn’t go down became a key part of the story.

Eventually, Ali realized that for him to win he needed to wear down his younger and powerful opponent. Though he had used the strategy unsuccessfully in his losses to Frazier and Norton, the “rope-a-dope” strategy of staying against the ropes and bracing for big punches became part of the fight plan for Ali.

Foreman was still able to get in some huge punches, but eventually he started to tire and Ali began to gain control of the fight. Read the rest of this entry →

Anthony Joshua is looking to be the fifth boxer to win the prestigious SPOTY Award.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) Award is always a cherished honor and according to Betway Insider the favorite to claim the 2017 award is boxing champion Anthony Joshua.

Heading into his upcoming fight with Carlos Takam, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion has already had a good 2017 with his title unifying victory in April over former champion Wladimir Klitschko.

That victory in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium followed up three victories in 2016. Joshua first claimed the WBC International Heavyweight title in 2014 and then won the British Heavyweight title with a December 2015 victory over Dillian Whyte.

Joshua claimed the IBF (International Boxing Federation) title with a knockout of Charles Martin in April 2016. He twice retained his titles in 2016 with wins over Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina.

The 2012 Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist, Joshua enters the Takam fight undefeated with a 19-0 career professional record, including five knockouts.

He was originally scheduled to face Kubrat Pulev, but Pulev suffered an injury in early October and was replaced just 12 days before the scheduled fight by the 36-year old Takem. Read the rest of this entry →

Boxing has a proud history and growing up in the 1970s, there was nothing that could top the battle for the World Heavyweight title and the return of Muhammad Ali.  The division has had its problems in recent years but there’s a long way to go before it can reach the great heights of that decade.

For starters, the division wasn’t split with several world champions as it is now.  When you asked anyone who the World Heavyweight Champion was, they’d give you just one name, whether that be legends such as Joe Frazier, George Foreman and of course the greatest of them all, Muhammad Ali.

Ali Returns

The 1970s had begun with controversy over the World Heavyweight title with the undefeated Joe Frazier as champion and Muhammad Ali still suspended over his refusal to fight in the Vietnam war. As soon as that suspension was lifted, it was just a matter of time before Ali won his comeback fights and in 1971 challenged Frazier for the title he never lost in the ring. Two unbeaten fighters clashing for the World Heavyweight title, Frazier vs Ali was classes above the current diet of Parker v Fury and the likely fight next year between Joshua and Wilder. Read the rest of this entry →

Conor McGregor took most of the big hits during his battle with Floyd Mayweather.

Las Vegas’ T-Mobile arena saw Floyd Mayweather surpass Conor McGregor with a tenth round stoppage on Saturday, and win the money spinning super fight, alongside clinching the 50^th straight victory of his extraordinary career.

Mayweather Took His Time on Saturday

Mayweather, as a former welterweight boxing champion, emerged from a retirement spanning two years to face the Irish MMA superstar, and took his own sweet time to get the fight started. After the fourth round began, however, his domination was complete.

The end of the fight saw an exhausted McGregor doubled over the ropes and Mayweather landing two hard left hooks, an action which prompted ref Robert Byrd’s intervention, and his call of a technical knockout.

Mayweather Remains Complimentary about McGregor

Mayweather stated that McGregor impressed him, and that the Irishman was far better than he had imagined he would be. He went on to say, however, that although McGregor was a tough competitor, he had been the better man that night.

The Slow Going a Deliberate Move

Mayweather said that he had purposefully taken his time as the match began, since he knew that this would allow him to take full advantage of the fatigue he predicted McGregor would be battling.

In accordance with many of the punters that partook of the online betting NZ and the rest of the world provided, Mayweather was certain that McGregor would be unable to go the distance, and he was proven correct, as the tenth round revealed. Read the rest of this entry →

Does the 11 year age different give the youthful Conor McGregor an advantage against 40-year-old Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Mayweather has carried on with the mind games in the lead up to his super-fight against Conor McGregor, most lately by acknowledging his younger opponent’s advantages.

McGregor Looks Good on Paper

Mayweather, speaking to ESPN, has said that the physical differences between him and his rival meant that, theoretically, McGregor looked good for the win.

Mayweather also conceded that he was older now, and far from the fighter he once was, and that the age gap of 11 years gave McGregor a considerable edge. He went on to say that not only was McGregor was a lot younger than he, he was also taller, with a longer reach.

Mayweather Takes Time Off of Criticizing Conor

When he was questioned as to why he was not taking this chance to once again verbally assault his opponent, Mayweather replied that facts were facts, and that he had to acknowledge his age. He went on to say that he knew he was not the same fighter that he had once been, even two years ago, and that Andre Berto managing to go the distance with him was indicative of the advantages he no longer had access to because of his age.

Mayweather stated that his knockout ratio had once been 90%, and that it was obvious that he had started slipping, and his age had started taking its toll on his ability to fight as he once had. Read the rest of this entry →

The hype is in full swing for the Floyd Mayweather fight against Conor McGregor.

Michael Page, the British fighter, has stated the obvious: if Conor McGregor wins the upcoming August fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. it will be the biggest upset in the history of sport. He went on to say that the last time the world experienced anything like this win would be was when Leicester won the Premier League, and that McGregor winning would overshadow that, in just one boxing match, in the unlikely event that he managed to best Mayweather.

Mayweather Lets McGregor Fight with Gloves He’s Used to

Mayweather has been keeping his mouth shut, relatively speaking, in the build-up to the Vegas showdown, but he has recently dropped a bombshell: he has told McGregor to forget about the ten ounce gloves he should wear for the fight, and stick to the eight ounce ones he’s more used to instead!

The Buzz of the Press Conference Showdowns

McGregor has claimed that he emerged the winner in each round of his promotional tour alongside the undefeated Mayweather, but one of the biggest criticisms he has had to contend with were allegations of racism due to more-insensitive-than-usual comments he made. Australian sports betting sites and those around the world have been lapping up every minute of the sensational exchanges, but there are many people that feel that McGregor went too far a number of times.

The claims arose after McGregor told Mayweather to dance for him, calling him boy, as well, a moniker with severe racial overtones. His attempts to diffuse the furore that resulted only added gasoline to the fire, with a further uproar resulting from McGregor’s statement that he was half-black, below the waist. He also referred to black people as dancing monkeys when discussing the third instalment of the Rocky films on a chat show.

Trash Talk Started Early On

McGregor had previously laid into Mayweather about reports over the latter’s unpaid taxes, with the IRS claiming that the boxer owes them more than US$20 million in unpaid taxes from 2015. This was the year that Mayweather enjoyed his biggest payday to date thanks to the blockbuster bout against Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather’s rather tame response was that his domain was intact, but this affected McGregor’s taunting not a jot, and he continued to tease the champion about the money he allegedly owes the US government. McGregor even commented on what Mayweather was wearing, saying that the boxer could obviously not afford a suit, and that the money he owed was the reason behind the fact that he was dressed in just a tracksuit. Read the rest of this entry →