Monthly Archives: May 2017

Roll on, roll on –it’s the biggest freak show of them all

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It will be the biggest mismatch in boxing history.

Floyd Mayweather jr against Conor McGregor will also be one of the richest, most compelling fights in history.

No sport does weird quite like the sweet science, so while common sense says that the Irishman has no business being in the same room (let alone the same ring) as Mayweather, it’s going to happen.

As humans, we are drawn to car crashes and freak shows. This “fight” has a little of both, blending two outrageous personalities with sharp skills and international renown. Roll up, roll up.

The fact that Mayweather hasn’t signed the deal yet is immaterial. He’s an old hand at drawing things out to suit his interests. He likes to let a big fight marinate – remember the Manny Pacquiao circus – because every week that passes ramps up the interest. And the money that will pour in.

MMayweather’s pursuit of a record 50th consecutive win will have joke written all over it

The remarkable thing is that millions will tune in knowing full well that Mayweather’s pursuit of a record 50th consecutive win will have joke written all over it. The American has a reasonable claim to being one of the top 10 best fighters in history. McGregor, for all his power and marketing shtick, has never had a single professional boxing bout. He couldn’t carry Mayweather’s jock strap.

Those in his corner who claim he has the skills to beat an artist like Mayweather are deluded. Mayweather carved up world-class boxers like Canelo Alvarez and Ricky Hatton. He’d hardly have trouble with a wannabe like McGregor.

South African Chris van Heerden sparred with McGregor last year. He wasn’t impressed. The short video clip that emerged showed a raw fighter with his hands held low – meat and drink for an instinctive hitter like Mayweather. Van Heerden is nowhere near the class of a Mayweather, but he had few problems putting the MMA fighter in his place.

McGregor can fight, but in an octagon rather than a boxing ring. He has excellent striking skills and hand speed, but you need more than that to overcome a slick, streetwise operator like Mayweather.

The only reason it has come to this is because Mayweather ran out of opposition in boxing. He beat everyone there was to beat and although there has been a clamour for him to fight Gennady Golovkin, the Kazakh is a middleweight and far too big. It would also carry a real risk of damaging Mayweather’s legacy because Golovkin hurts people.

There are a couple of promising youngsters around, but Mayweather is all about the money and such fights wouldn’t generate the $100-million or so he expects at this stage of his career. That he is “retired” is immaterial. You can count the boxers who stay retired on one hand. The lure of the ring never goes away. Many hang about far too long.

The only way this contest could have a “fair” dimension would be if McGregor had a return clause in his contract – but for an MMA fight. Of course he’d win that because Mayweather wouldn’t have a clue how to add the other fundamentals to mixed martial arts. Plus, McGregor is a beast in the cage where he has built up to become an unimaginably big figure in the public consciousness.

A few years ago former boxing champion James Toney tried his luck against Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Randy Couture. He was thrashed inside a round, putting a firm lid on any suggestion that he ever stood a chance.

It is impossible to imagine an even remotely entertaining fight between Mayweather and McGregor. The boxer either sparks him early or labours to a dull points win. This, of course, will happen amid an air of fake surprise.

For all Mayweather’s pure skill, his single greatest talent has been whipping the fans up. Unlike Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran or Mike Tyson, he’s never been an electric fighter with one-punch power. He’s all about the show, a smoke and mirrors merchant who talks a good game better than he delivers.

He’s never gone life and death, so to speak, with an opponent, or had memorable wars with anyone.

Fighting McGregor in what amounts to a circus may get the cash tills ringing, but it won’t quicken the pulse. – © Sunday Tribune

 

It’s a go for Indy 500, live on SuperSport

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Billed as the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, the Indy 500 takes place in Indianapolis this weekend with the action live on SuperSport 2 (SA only) from 5.30pm on Sunday.

Around 300 000 people are expected to crowd the famous raceway with millions more watching the 101st running of the event.

Top heavy with stars – the race will be started by Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal – the participants include former F1 world champion Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marco Andretti, the third-generation member of the famous racing family.

“I have always been intrigued by this place and this race,” Alonso explained. “I said this before, I want to be remembered as the best racer in the world. That is why I am here. Indianapolis is a place that can prove that.”

Scott Dixon, who is on pole by his 373km/h speed in the time trials, is favourite for the 500-mile (805km) race that takes in 200 laps on an asphalt surface.

 

 

SA rugby’s tectonic plates are moving – hold on tight

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Here’s a novel thought. Line up the top 180 professional rugby players in South Africa and put them through a skills and fitness drill. Have them go through everything required of a pro rugby player and give them an assessment.

Take the top 120 performers and give them jobs in Super Rugby. Say thanks to the rest and send them on their way.

This may seem extreme, but watching some of the play by SA teams last weekend was often an exercise in frustration as even established players knocked on, passed forward and showed little tactical appreciation. And so it goes.

Against this backdrop we have the stark situation of two domestic Super Rugby teams facing the chop. The bleating was loudest last weekend when the Kings heroically upset the Sharks. Predictably, the call rang out to save the Kings, presumably because it is they who appear to be most at risk under the new dispensation.

IIn this age of cold cash and hard decisions, there’s little room for sentiment

Yet in this age of cold cash and hard decisions, there’s little room for sentiment. The game’s structures must change if Super Rugby is to thrive. Moreover, the talent is spread too thinly both here and in Australia.

The Kings are battlers and play with huge commitment, but hand on heart who can say they have a single player worthy of a place in a Springbok team?

The point isn’t to denigrate a team who flourish despite the odds, but to re-emphasise the reality that the depth at elite level remains worryingly limited. Just look across the pond to New Zealand for context. The Crusaders have a run of injuries and retirements and yet continue to produce excellence regardless. There are no easy games when we play the Kiwis.

Rather like a visit to the dentist to relieve an abscess, the pain SA rugby must endure to help correct Super Rugby will be worth it in the end. Having just four teams will sharpen the senses and put real pressure on players to lift their games. With fewer openings for players, fewer journeymen and veterans will find themselves thrust into the limelight. This is no bad thing when you consider how SA teams have routinely had to bow to the superiority of New Zealand teams. Something must change.

No team should have a divine right to be in Super Rugby, but age-old provincialism and power bases suggest that the big four – Sharks, Stormers, Lions and Bulls – will remain. The real anomaly is how two such powerful sides, historically at least, can exist and yet be just 60km apart. The Lions and the Bulls ought to have combined 20-odd years ago, but self-interest and tribal loyalties ensure they live on as separate (and occasionally formidable) franchises. It could never happen now.

Fresh mergers have been proposed, one of which suggested the Kings and the Cheetahs should combine. The King Cheetahs has a nice ring to it, but probably wouldn’t work. As the creation of the Cats in 1998 – an amalgamation of the Cheetahs and Lions – showed, cultural differences were too great an impediment to success.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the franchises that will soon dip out. There are ongoing talks with overseas tournaments to find a home for them. This would be an elegant situation for two reasons. The first is that no team deserves to be left in the wilderness. The other is that going north – on the assumption that inclusion would be European-based – is far superior logistically than what occurs in Super Rugby.

The travel wouldn’t wipe our players out and it would energise our rugby with something new to savour.

Make no mistake, European organisers would also welcome a South African flavour; new markets bring new opportunities.

Certainly, the Kings cannot be killed off altogether. The Eastern Cape is the heartland of black rugby and players must have something meaningful to aspire to. It’s not enough that the finest black players routinely get picked off by the big franchises. They need a home of their own and the region’s fans deserve to be served by a team operating at the top level. Whether this is Super Rugby or European rugby matters little.

Whatever happens, SA rugby’s tectonic plates are moving. Hold on tight. – © Sunday Tribune

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s adapt or die for modern sport

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What would happen if you parachuted Pierre de Coubertin, Walter Wingfield or William Webb Ellis onto planet earth for a look around?

Chances are these pioneers would scarcely recognise the sports they bequeathed to the world. Change is everywhere in this age of fast food, social media and instant downloads. Sport isn’t immune to this transformation with rugby, hockey, tennis and cricket having embraced radical change. It’s not so much dumbing down as staying relevant.

Last weekend, golf tore off its cloak of stodginess and introduced “golf sixes”, which is about as far removed from the Masters or traditional golf as you can imagine.

Hosted by the European Tour at the Centurion Club in England, it was an undisguised attempt to sex up the famously rigid sport. No tea was spilled, no stiff upper lip quivered.

The big crowd roared its approval as some team matches were played over as few as six holes with a shot clock on one of the holes. During the first day of round-robin group matches, players were allowed 40 seconds to play their strokes. This was reduced to 30 for the second day, a long overdue innovation given how slow play infuriates spectators and golfers alike.

In addition to amphitheatre-style stands around the tees and greens, there was music on the first tee and at various points around the course. Players even wore microphones – T20-style – to help bring fans closer to the action.

It got stranger still. Players were encouraged to interact with fans during play and later took part in Q and A sessions in the fan zone. You can’t imagine Tiger Woods high-fiving the fans and none of the superstar golfers took part. But this is a start.

The point is that golf – this was a sanctioned European Tour event, remember – has cottoned onto the reality that evolution is vital if it is to appeal to a millennial audience.

Rugby did so a few years ago and although Sevens has been with us for a while yet, it was only Olympic participation that really put a fire under the blazers’ backsides. We now have a slick world series that is long on excitement and short on that most valuable of commodities: time.

It’s designed for quick consumption and if matches aren’t as thunderous or as memorable as Tests, they are explosive and captivating. One look at the youthful audience and you can see how world rugby is winning hearts and minds.

Cricket, of course, had its first fresh incarnation when Kerry Packer rolled into town 40 years ago. Since then, one-day cricket has been usurped by Twenty20, a wham-bam affair that is as far removed from Test cricket as WG Grace is from Chris Gayle.

CCricket was headed down a dead-end until the rise of Twenty20

Cricket was headed down a dead-end until the rise of Twenty20. Few sports are as wedded to tradition as cricket, so it’s been curious, and entertaining, to see how the greybeards have had to come to terms with this strange new phenomenon where pom poms, dancing music and loud music are de rigueur.

It’s not for everyone, but the format has converted millions who love the spectacle.

Even tennis has entered this brave new world. Tennis Australia has pioneered the development of Fast4 tennis. Two years ago Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer became the first professionals to play a format that has four points, four games and four rules. There are no advantage scores, lets are played, tie-breakers apply at three games all and the first to four games wins the set.

It’s marvellously simple and designed to meet the changing demands of consumers.

Soccer is doing interesting things with technology and other sports like athletics, hockey and mixed martial arts work hard at becoming more fan-friendly through various innovations. These are all rooted in the need to entertain and to stay relevant when there is so much else vying for our attention.

Obviously, the trick in modernising is that respect for the contest must remain sacrosanct. Fans won’t tolerate farce or anything overly contrived.

There is nothing wrong with tradition and its virtues, but in a world of constant flux it’s a case of adapting or dying. Sport, to its credit, knows this.

The old way is dead. – © Sunday Tribune

 

 

 

 

 

 

Triumph and tears in boxing’s wild world

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Eight years ago Herbert Nkabiti travelled to South Africa from Botswana with little more than great hope in his heart.

A decorated amateur boxer who won silver at the African Games in Algiers a decade ago, he turned professional in Johannesburg. He won his first fight by knockout, a trend that would continue through his first 10 bouts. In boxing parlance, he was on a roll. And then he ran into the powerful fists of Boitshepo Mandawe, a fighter who was fated to be murdered in a Soweto shebeen two years ago. Last year, having suffered another defeat, Nkabiti packed it in.

But as happens so often in boxing, he hit upon hard times. He had a new baby to feed, but he had no work. So he went back to what he knew best. Last Friday, he fought Willis Baloyi in the unfashionable environs of working class Brakpan. Nkabiti was knocked out by a vicious uppercut and was in some distress when an ambulance rushed him to hospital. Hours later, he was dead.

The event caused barely a ripple in the news cycle. Nkabiti fought on the margins and hadn’t cracked the big time. His death was seen as another casualty of an often violent sport where injury and, yes, sometimes even fatal injury, is an occupational hazard.

Yet his death has been catastrophic for his young wife, who must now raise their four-month-old daughter on her own, and the community of Kanye, where he lived. Their hero is dead, taken far too soon.

If that was a bad body blow for local boxing, it was preceded by the death in a bike accident of Nick Durandt, the colourful and controversial boxing trainer. Durandt was laid to rest on Friday, but only after great tributes had been paid to him by a range of prominent people.

DDurandt was nothing less than a walking contradiction

Durandt was nothing less than a walking contradiction. He could be angry and sullen and foul-mouthed, but he was big-hearted and generous too. He cursed and slapped his boxers, but he adored them and would kiss them seconds before they fought. They loved him, too, as was evident in the outpouring of grief following word of his death.

In one of the last meaningful conversations I had with him, he predicted that Tyson Fury would handle Wladimir Klitschko in their heavyweight title fight. “Fury’s a nut job with two left feet,” I told him, dismissing his prediction.

Durandt was bang on the money. He would no doubt have picked Anthony Joshua over Klitschko too. The Briton was Durandt’s type of fighter: big, strong, hard-working and hard-hitting.

Durandt had a hand in Hasim Rahman’s shock title win over Lennox Lewis in SA 16 years ago, so he knew what made an elite-level heavyweight tick. Despite all his success, though, he never discovered the Holy Grail: a black African heavyweight champion. For a while Courage Tshabalala had a tremendous winning run under Durandt, but he was found out in America and soon drifted out of the sport.

Osborne Machimana had potential, but he never found a buffet he didn’t like, a habit sharply at odds for anyone with designs on a heavyweight title. He knocked out a faded Corrie Sanders, but that’s the closest he got to heavyweight fame.

If boxing often brings tragedy, it also brings supreme triumph. Joshua’s knockout of Klitschko marked the coronation of a new king and perhaps also a reawakening of the division. Joshua is the complete package, from his skill and power down to his eloquence and dignified manner that is unlike so many other boxers.

He’s what marketers call “box office”; a can’t-miss hero who will make tons of cash while engaging in thrilling fights. The Klitschko fight represented a severe gut-check, and the magnificent Joshua passed the test.

As good as he already is, he’s a work in progress and will get even better. Even so, there isn’t a heavyweight in the world who could live with him. The moment he pulls the trigger against the over-rated Fury, it would be lights out. So too Deontay Wilder, Luis Ortiz or Joe Parker.

Even as we mourn our own heroes, it’s time to celebrate another. – © Sunday Tribune