Muhammed Ali - Rest in peace

Today boxing legend Muhammed Ali has died, he suffered from Parkinson's even before he officially retired.  Unfortunately I missed out on seeing him fight in his prime.  The only fight of his I saw when I was little was the beating he took from Larry Holmes.  I have seen his "Rumble in the Jungle" fight with George Foreman many times online and on TV and that will be his best remembered work.  Rest in peace!

Amir Khan vs Saul Canelo Alvarez

On the same day that Leicester City were crowned EPL champions, Amir Khan lost his latest fight to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez of Mexico for the WBC middleweight championship belt by way of a 6th round knockout.  

Khan has certainly come a long way since winning the Olympic silver medal in Athens in 2004 and has won a lot of fans both inside and outside of boxing.  I remember at the time he was held up as positive feature of multiculturalism.  However, as a boxer, he has definitely under achieved.  I believe we seen the limit of this talent, at the end of the day we all have our limits somewhere.  Khan for his health should consider quitting since 3 of his 4 losses have now come from serious knockouts or stoppages.

Nick Blackwell and the debate about boxing

The sport of boxing gave us a sad reminder of why it is such a dangerous yet compelling sport this week with the injuries to Nick Blackwell.  He was fighting Chris Eubank Jr, son of former world super middleweight champion Chris Eubank Sr, for the British middleweight title. As the clip below shows, Eubank Sr even climbed in the ring to ask his son not to continue with headshots on Blackwell, maybe he was thinking about the injuries he caused to Michael Watson back in the 1980s.

More importantly he was asking why the referee did not stop the bout when it was clear that Blackwell was not able to defend himself. Elsewhere, I read this article about the bout in the Spectator and came across this particular quote by the writer Simon Barnes -

But when deaths and serious injuries happen in sports like eventing, it’s because things have gone horribly wrong. When they happen in boxing it’s because things have gone horribly right. Two powerful and highly trained athletes are trying to hit each other’s brains.

What he said is true but what Barnes fails to mention is that boxers choose to take up the sport, either as a profession or pastime, voluntarily.  Of course, unfortunately, incident's like this will always happen, but that is part of the attraction of the sport to some.  Wrapping people up in cotton wool helps no one.

As someone who practices boxing as a hobby my thoughts are with Nick Blackwell, and I wish him a speedy recovery.

In praise of ... the double end bag

The double end bag or floor to ceiling bag is one of the most under-rated pieces of equipment in the boxing gym.  It is round football size bag that is attached to the floor and the ceiling by two pieces of elastic or bungee.  The elastic causes the bag to swing violently when you hit it, making it hard to hit the next time around.  So it helps you in your hand eye co-ordination and swing can be seen as an opponent's punch, meaning you can practicing your slipping and weaving skills at the same time.  So for me it is my favorite piece of boxing gym equipment.  Here is a perfect demonstration of it by Tim Bradley.