Boxing brings the year to a close (almost!)

So its getting to the time of year where there is not a massive amount of sport on the horizon, but there are still a few little gems to look forward to! There is the latest instalment of Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Marquez tonight which is an intriguing bout. Not many bookmakers seem to be giving Marquez much of a chance, but we have been in this situation before. There are people that think that Marquez won at least one of the previous three fights. I suspect that the powers that be might have taken care of those that can make a difference with the decision. Also in Boxing tonight Darren Barker makes his long-awaited return to the ring against Kerry Hope. Barker is a heavy favourite with the bookies so it is a bit of a foregone conclusion, but I just hope that Barker can get a good session under his belt and stay injury free. The Londoner has had a torrid time in recent years, and where not too long ago he was alongside the likes of Britain's other top level middleweights in Martin Murray and Matt Macklin, his lack of activity has made him somewhat a forgotten man. I believe that Murray would beat both of his rivals and will go on to become a World champion in the near future, but there are certainly some tasty dust-ups to be had domestically. Also tonight James De Gale returns against Fulgencio Zuniga in Hull. I don't think many would say that moving to the Hennessey stable was a forward step for De Gale, but after Frank Warren signed George Groves perhaps he felt he had no choice but to move. I have to say that in a recent Channel 5 interview De Gale seemed more humble than I have ever seen him. I for one was certainly glad to see the back of all the trash-talking that we've become accustomed to with De Gale. Maybe now he can let his fists do the talking rather than his over-sized mouth, although I think the he lacks the necessary punch power to get right to the top. In my eyes, the most exciting bout of the night is Kalid Yafai against Jorge Perez. Kal has looked utterly destructive when I have seen him before and I think he has the skills to go all the way. With four KO's in five fights (he has only fought twelve rounds in five fights as well) he is getting a reputation for being a bit of a banger, and Matchroom might find it difficult to find credible opponents if he carries on like this. No doubt though he will progress through the ranks quickly, he looks like a boxer who is much more mature than his time in the game would suggest. Frank Maloney has also made a statement this week aimed at trying to get Mick Hennessey and Tyson Fury to sit round the table and discuss a fight deal. I think he is right that aside of David Haye versus Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko this is the most exciting fight in the division. I think Price is the real deal as well, particularly after how he removed Matt Skelton last time out. People (including Camp Fury!) still talk about his vulnerable chin, and they may have a point, but the only way to prove that Tyson can knock out David is to get in the ring and do it. You can't keep coming out with ridiculous claims and insults if you never intend to back it up. Here's hoping for 2013!

It is also time for the BBC Sports Personality Personality of the Year, which as you might expect is quite Olympics oriented in terms of candidates.If I was the voting panel my top three would be as follows;

1 - Mo Farah. I remember watching Mo in 2008 in Beijing where he did not quite cut the mustard at the top level, and looked somewhat bemused in not making the final of the 5000m. Mo did not take this lying down and made wholesale changes to his coach, training and lifestyle in general basing himself in the USA most of the time while training. Having won Gold in the 5000m, Mo and his training partner Galen Rupp crossed the line first and second respectively, making the Somali-born Briton a double Olympic champion.

2 - Jessica Ennis. Jess was the first athlete to take gold in the 'Golden Hour' that saw Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah also take Golds. Jess' total score was 6955 points which was 306 points ahead of her nearest rival, and she also set three personal bests in her seven events along the way.

3 - Rory McIlroy. I include Rory primarily as I think the achievements of Team Europe on September 30th cannot go unrecognised, and McIlroy is the only Team Europe member on the list. If I was compiling the list of contenders, Ian Poulter would have been my pick, but the Northern Irishman's achievements at Kiawah Island in the US PGA Championships probably tipped the balance. McIlroy also won The FedEx Cup, The Race to Dubai, and the US and European money lists as well as finishing the year as world number one.

I do also expect Team GB to win team of the year, but I again would vote for Team Europe for the Ryder Cup win.

At the end of the year I will be compiling a 'Sport's best of 2012' blog, so please email me your favourites at floydssporttalk@live.co.uk

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Formula One climax, and goodbye from a British boxing legend

This afternoon the 2012 Formula One season comes to a climax at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Defending champion Sebastian Vettel is best placed for victory having qualified fourth with Spaniard Fernando Alonso in eighth. Alonso needs to finish in at least third to have a hope; if Alonso wins the race he needs Vettel to finish fourth or worse to win. When all the permutations are considered, along with the usual unpredictable of Sao Paulo it makes for a thoroughly entertaining race. If Vettel does win, he will park himself neatly alongside some illustrious company (Senna, Prost, Brabham, Stewart, Lauda)  as a triple winner, and he would be the youngest of these. As a consecutive triple winner the company would be even greater, as only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have achieved this feat. At this point, Formula One has been running for 62 years and there have been 32 different winners in this time so Sebastian Vettel's acievemnt would be truly great. Is he considered one of the greatest drivers of all time at the moment? No, I don't think he is. But if he does go on to win his third title he certainly would be. Maybe we will only be able to give a true perspective to the German's acheivements after he has retired. At the tender age of 25 though, he is really still in his infancy in the sport. His team-mate Mark Webber still looks fresh and hungry at 36! Sebastian Vettel could go on to break all records in the sport if Red Bull Racing can still go on supplying him reliable quick cars. After a very good start to the season, they have had some issues with reliabiliy in the latter part of the season. As much as I hope the championship is not decided until the end of the race, something similar to 2008 would suit me down to the ground. 

Having said all this, if Alonso wins he would also become a triple champion having won in 2005 and 2006 with Renault. After an ill-fated switch to McLaren, the Spaniard has looked much more at home at Scuderia Ferrari and I would like to think will also win a third title at some stage if not today. He certainly has the talent, but the Maranello team have not quite been able to deliver a chmpionship winning car. Alonso had a poor mid-season which to a certain extent was beyond his control. Being caught up in a few first-corner incidents that resulted in DNF's put pay to his season. 

 A track guide from Rubens Barrichello who was born very close to the circuit and used to climb through the fence as a boy to watch the racing. 

There is no doubt that the Interlagos circuit is made for drama. The bumpy crumbly track surface, the weather, the fast straights and off-camber tight corners, the super-enthusiastic Brazilian crowd. 

My last point this week is to say that we should remember one for the career he has had, and not the way it ended last night. Ricky Hatton succumbed to a ninth round body punch from Vyacheslav Senchenko, which ended the Mancunian's career. As I said to many people before the fight, Hatton had already won in getting to the ring. And hopefully now he can live his life with enjoyment, and fulfillment from his other interests in promotion, management and also as a trainer. Here he is in his finest hour on June 4th 2005 beating Kostya Tszyu for the IBF light-welterweight belt who at the time was widely regarded as the pound for pound king. 

Thanks Ricky. 

 

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I'm Back!!

Let us never forget those who lay down their lives for our liberty.

Morning again sport fans. Having a six week old child might not affect my ability to watch to much sport, but it certainly does affect ones ability to research and write about it. That said, as much as I love my sport I love my little boy considerably more. 

As it has been a few weeks, this blog is going to be a bit of a catch up issue as a lot has gone on in Sportworld over the last couple of weeks.  

Those who know me personally will know that one of my favourite sports is snooker. Two particularly interesting things have happened in snooker recently. Firstly Ronnie O'Sullivan, the best and most exciting player to ever pick up a cue, has taken a sabbatical until the end of the season which may end up leading to his retirement. Followers of the sport will know that the Chigwell cue-man has been battling mental demons for quite a while, and after twenty years in the sport maybe it is time for Ronnie to put the cue down for a while. Over the years we have seen Ronnie walk out mid-game, bite his tip off at the end of a game through dissatisfaction and also physically abuse the table for its inconsistencies. Having watched the great man play live on quite a few occasions, I know he's like a Rolls Royce when at his best, and that is how I like to think of him. Here he is being not only better than everybody else, but quicker than everyone else as well. 

We may be saying goodbye to the mercurial O'Sullivan, but the heir apparent made it to the top of the world rankings last weekend in winning The international Championship in China last weekend. Bristolian Judd Trump had infact ensured this position by getting to the final, but beating former World Champion Neil Robertson in the final certainly consolidated his berth at the top of the game. He has taken the game by storm since his emergence on the scene in 2005. He had been on the radar of all snooker fans even as a junior, and many have tipped him to be a World Champion before he even turned pro. This is a feat he has yet to acheive, although he did make the final earlier this year, but as a three time ranking event winner he will be amongst the favourites in April when the snooker fraternity converges on The Crucible once again. 

Why do we have to have an international friendly at this point of the year? Sandwichwed inbetween weekends with Premier League fixtures it is surely an inconvenience for players and managers alike; particularly as England don't play another game until February 6th. 

Well done to Jorge Lorenzo for winning the MotoGP title at Philip Island. Once Dani Pedrosa crashed out early on Jorge just has to bring it home to clinch the title. There was only one man that was ever going to win that day, as Casey Stoner had been a second a lap quicker than anyone else all weekend. It was fitting that Stoner won as this would be the last time he would race this circuit in MotoGP as he retires from the sport at the end of the season....At 26 years old! As a new parent myself, I can understand why he would want to spend more time with his young family, but there is no doubt the sport is losing one of it's most talented riders. 

David Coulthard races the dirt-track outline in a Red Bull.

Next weekend sees the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. The Circuit of the Americas is said to try and mimic famous elements from other tracks around the world, and is eagerly anticipated by the drivers. Jenson Button said via his Twitter account that the track looks 'epic'. There hasn't been a race in the USA since Indianapolis in 2007 where Lewis Hamilton was victorious. I think the proposed New Jersey race is still in doubt, but hopefully this new race can capture the imagination of the American petrolhead community. 

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Favourites from 'The Friendly Derby: Liverpool V Everton

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am a huge Liverpool fan. I do try to not show my bias, but sometimes it's quite difficult; particularly on the weekend where the Merseyside derby comes around. So, here are my favourite moments from the greatest derby match of all from over the years.

The first clip comes from 2001, which apart from 2005 has been the most successful year in recent history as we won a magnificent cup treble. I think the greatest success from that time was Gerard Houllier bringing Gary McAllister to the club. He might have been coming to the end of his career, and only stayed at Anfield for two years, but the lessons he was able to pass on to the younger players at the club was invaluable; as this clip shows, particularly around the 4.00 mark. 

As I was born in the late seventies, my footballing memories really start around the mid eighties. Liverpool were in their heyday then so these memories are great, and perhaps the one that really sticks in my memory is the 1986 FA Cup final. Liverpool went behind in this game to a goal from Gary Lineker, but then the fight back began.

Goals from Ian Rush, Craig Johnston and Rush again save the day. From the moment I saw Alan Hansen climb the original Wembley steps to lift the FA Cup that day I was hooked. Ultimately, I support Liverpool because my Grandad does; and although there are as many Blues in my family as Reds, there was always only ever one team for me.

Having lost the 1988 final to Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' after John Aldridge missed an early penalty, the determination to win back the trophy the following year must have been huge. Unfortunately, ninety six fans did not come home from the abandoned first semi-final to see us win the cup back. Those fans will never be forgotten, and you can see in the clip below what it meant to the players to try and bring the trophy home for the lost loved ones.

Stuart McCall tried his hardest for Everton, but there was really only to be one winner that day. John Aldridge banished memories from the year before by scoring first, and two goals from our perennial hero Ian Rush saved the day. In a a way, it was incredibly fitting that the final was against our closest rivals. These rivals were our closest allies in those most difficult of times, as there will have been Everton fans who lost relatives on April 15th 1989 at Hillsborough, and the city grieved as one. The ninety six have now got the truth they deserved, and justice is well on its way too. #YNWA

And so to the first of this year's fixtures. There is absolutely no disguising that Everton have had the better start to the season. After all, the table doesn't lie. Liverpool may be six points and eight places behind our neighbours, but we are starting to hit a bit of form. Three clean sheets and seven points from the last possible nine is good, but we have only scored twice in those games which will need addressing. With Nuri Sahin and Oussama Assaidi coming more in to the fold, as well as Raheem Sterling's fantastic start to the season, I think we are due a few goals. Everton have five points from their last three games, but they have scored six so the Reds back four will need to have their wits about them. With the game being at Goodison Park, if you offered me a draw now I'd probably take it. It is always an intimidating place to go, and with us having so many young and inexperienced that could be overawed the result is difficult to predict. I'll go for 1-1 and hope for the best. Come on you Reds!

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Brook beats 'El Tigre' Saldivia to set up mouth-watering world title clash

Future welterweight king?

  Atfter Kell Brook's last time out when he struggled to get over the line against Carson Jones, things could not have looked more different last night at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield. Since the July clash with Jones where Kell struggled to hang on to his unbeaten recored, the 'steel city star' has engaged the services of a strength, power and conditioning coach and also a nutritionist who have made a world of difference. Kell had trained for a long hard fight against Saldivia, as you might expect for a world title eliminator, but his superior power was evident from very early in the fight. A stinging uppercut in the first round sent the Argentine to the canvas, and Brook's intent was obvious from there on in. The barrage continued through the second round, and a straight left at the beginning of the third signalled the beginning of the end. After such a systematic defeat, in hindsight it seems difficult tio believe that Hector Saldivia was rated third in the IBF rankings, which perhaps enhances Brook's victory and stature moving on to a world title fight. It looks likely that Kell will face Devon Alexander who defeated Randall Bailey in New York later on the same night to win the IBF Belt. By all accounts it was a dire affair with more clinching than punching, that will no doubt inspire the Yorkshire pugilist to believe that he can wrestle the world title from the American early in 2013. 

Kell Brook and Amir Khan in the Sky Sports studio for 'Ringside' recently

 If Kell can become a world champion, there are some huge fights out there for him. He has made no secret of wanting ro tear Amir Khan to pieces. And there is also the golden carrot of a fight with the returning Ricky Hatton; if The Hitman does the business in November. How near can Special K get to the top of the world rankings? Only time will tell, but he has now put the foundations in place and we will all find out next year. Good luck Kell.

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Classy Price finishes Audley.....for good?

Future world-heavyweight champion?

On Saturday night In Liverpool at the Echo Arena, around 8500 people saw David Price destructively end the career of former Olympic champion Audley Harrison. Regular readers will know that I predicted this last week, (I said it wouldn't go more than four rounds) but to be honest you don't need to be a genius to see that coming. I think Audley Harrison's PR team would be able to convince turkeys to vote for Christmas. For all the rubbish they have spouted over the years, I think their achievements in the last twelve years or so deserve more recognition than those of their employer. 

Price will now move on to a fight with former European heavyweight champion Matt Skelton on December 8th. I would see this as a stepping-stone fight to keep Price active rather than any sort of real test. It may last a bit longer than the Harrison bout on Saturday, but the result will be much the same. The real test will come early next year with the anticipated fight with Tyson Fury. The Manchester based fighter had plenty to say on television last night, including calling Price a plumber as well as saying he would fight Tony Bellew in between rounds. Price's promoter Frank Maloney offered Fury £500,000 to fight Price in the immediate aftermath of the fight last night, and Fury responded in with a rant in somewhat bad taste saying that if they didn't have the money they were in trouble. Fighting Tyson Fury may well be a step up from the likes of Harrison and Skelton, I think Price has the ability to go right to the top and could well be a world champion in 2014. 

Comments from Fury's promoter Mick Hennessy make me think that they might avoid fighting Price for a second time. Hennessy said 'Tyson is ranked No 4 with the WBC at the moment, he's had a lot more fights (than Price) so he’s in firing range for a world title,' 'I think Tyson could be a world champion by next summer. The Price fight, when it happens, Tyson will take him out. It would be better if it was for a world title but we've got to see Price get hit on the whiskers and see how he reacts. Tyson put David Price on his backside when he was a 17-year-old novice with a handful of fights. David Price was much older and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist whereas Tyson was, by his own admission, a fat, out of condition fighter. Tyson is a bigger man, he's a better athlete, he's got more ability and when the time comes he'll do a serious job on David Price.' 

Fury definitely has the chin to go in to the latter rounds with Price, but I am quite confident that Price's skill and power would see him come through the fight by a late round KO. It would seem that if Hennessy is prepared to make the fight happen, he wants Fury to be a world champion first. This might end up being Price's route to becoming a world champion. If you ask me, below the Klitschko brothers there is not too much class in this division so Fury should be able to capture a version of the title. Despite his mouthy bravado I still think he will duck Price when it comes to it but only time will tell. Next week sees Kell Brook take on Hector Saldivia in an eliminator for a world welterweight title fight, so it could well be more boxing next week!

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A shoe-in for Team of the Year at the BBC sports personality awards?

 
Having been out of the sports blogging loop due to the birth of my first son, there's a fair bit to catch up on! There are not many things that would have kept me away from the Ryder Cup, but I'm deliriously happy to say that the arrival of my little boy did. Well done Team Europe! I'd say that the performance of Team Europe in the singles on Sunday is well up there with the best come backs of all time. I am not quite sure whether it tops Liverpool's second half performance in the Champions League final in 2005, but it is certainly equal in my mind. I think the team as a hole performed fantastically well in the face of the extreme adversity brought by the partisan home, but I have to give particular plaudits to Ian Poulter. He showed tremendous mettle through the entire weekend, and gave the other lads the platform to release the shackles and play without fear. I hope he can use this performance as an inspiration to shine in the majors when it's just him and his caddie against the rest. He has proved now that he has the full game to follow Rory McIlroy on the major trail!

One other thing that's happened in the recent sporting past, is Lewis Hamilton's move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 F1 season after signing a three year deal with the Silver Arrows. Many have been critical of the move and suggested that it is just for the financial benefits. I agree with David Coulthard who said that the move is necesary for Lewis to mature as a driver. As everyone knows Lewis has been with McLaren since the age of thirteen, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he hasn't quite shed some of the child-like characteristics usually seen in adolescence. I am quite sure that once he makes the move, Lewis can mature in to the driver everbody knows he can be, and at the same time he can be the catalyst to take Mercedes on to the next level. I don't think Merecedes have ever lacked ambition, and although the progress maybe hasn't been as rapid as they may have liked, it will come. After all, next year will only be year four in the project and companies like Mercedes employ people like Nick Fry and Ross Brawn to settle for second best. It will also help that he's been friends with future team-mate Nico Rosberg since their karting days as team-mates. 

This week in boxing we see the heavyweight clash between David Price and Audley Harrison. I can't see the fight gong to far past four rounds or so. He hasn't exactly been bathed in glory in his twelve years as a pro, and he's been down once or twice! I think Price's big bombs will be far too much for Harrison to deal with. Hopefully that will then bring the curtain down on the farce that has been Harrison's career as a pro. Even my brother, who I consider to certainly be more of a boxing nut than me, admitted that he gets sucked in by the hype every time. All suggestions for forfeits will be considered. That's how confident I am that Price will win, and it will be funny to see what people can come up with. Reply via email, facebook or twitter on the links below. 

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