The week ahead is planned, in fact so are the weeks of the summer ahead but so much is dependent on the outcome of the visit to the Freeman’s hospital on Friday.
The weather continues to be glorious, not Mediterranean although I regret I could no longer cope with intense heat and yesterday I was out and about for the greater part of the day after having stayed up to watch Carl Froch knock out Lucien Bute the International Boxing federation super middle weight so called World title fight of Nottingham.
Professional Boxing has an established history of corruption, involvement of the Mafia and criminal dealings in general. There is money to be made by promoting Boxing events especially with the TV rights involved and through gambling which in turn leads to fighters being persuade to lose. There is also corruption of the officials hired to score events and to referee. There are also five competing bodies all claiming to put on World Title fights. The prize for these competitions apart from the contacted money with everyone getting their cut is gaudy belts,
The World Boxing Association (1962) is the oldest of the present four bodies which sanctions (licences bouts for an appropriate fee) and arose out of the National Boxing Association of the USA. The Association brands champions super if they hold two more of the weight titles from the four association competitions. Each Association has 18 World Champions or super champions according to weight with Minimum and Flyweight 105 lbs 48 kilos 109 lbs 49 kilos through to 200 lbs and 90.7 kilos and heavyweight which are over this amount of 14 stone and 4 lbs. You might therefore conclude that at anyone time there could be 72 World Champions topping bills around the World. In fact there is likely to be more than this because sometimes titles are disputed and the subject of legal and Association wrangle. The WBA has 1 vacant title at present, seven super champions and can be regarded as a genuine International body with only five of the weights held by a USA citizen with one of these Andre Ward mentioned last night as having won the recent Super six contest depriving Froch of his previous World Champion Title. Ward now holds titles recognised by three Associations and is the obvious next person Froch should meet
I also have heard and possibly seen one other of their present champions Vladimir Klitschko is the recognised heavy weight title holder by four of the bodies with his brother recognised by the 5th.
.
It is the International Boxing Federation (1983) which presently recognises Karl Froch as Super Middleweight after his victory against Bute and the only British fighter in their list with three from the USA, has been recognises heaving weight champion by the IBF since 2006. They have two champions since listed since 2009.
The World Boxing Council was established in 1963. They recognise Ward and also the brother of Vladimir as a separate heavyweight champion The IBO was founded in 199 and also recognises Vladimir and heavy weight champion. There is also the International Boxing association which awards titles. The European and International Boxing Unions are organisation which attempt to recognise and unify title competitions. The International bodies also sponsor similar competitions and titles for female boxers.
Froch is therefore the only recognised British champion at the present time. He was considered the underdog in the contest by some commentators in part because he had two previous defeats in his 30 professional fights whereas his opponent had nine and was regarded as someone who could take hard punching to his face and body. Some suggested however that he had been careful to fight primarily in his adopted home country of Canada and after the demolition he suffered he is unlikely to insist on having the contracted return bout if he lost. The undisputed British super champion title holder as this weight was Joe Calzaghe who has since retired. The number of present and former British boxers known to me are few with heavy weights Henry Cooper the best known along with Joe Bugner and Lennox Lewis, Ken Buchanon at lightweight, Freddie Mills, Randolph Turpin, Chick Caldewood, Chris Finnegan and John Conteh Light Heavyweight, Lloyd Honeghan at Welter, Terry Downs and Alan Minter at Middle, Pat Cowdell at superfly, Alan Rudkin at superfly and Terry Spinks, and Barry McQuigan at featherweight who was won of the commentators last light.
Amir Khan the Bolton British born boxer won the Olympic Lightweight Medal at the 2004 games when he was only 17. He should have become World BA and IBF light welter champion last year winning on points but being deprived of the title by a referring decision which was hotly contested. The winning boxer has since failed a drugs test before the planned rematch. As I have said the sport has been riddled with criminality of all kinds.
I only had one boxing match when a school boy which was stopped when I entered the Inter House boxing competition on a dare. It was suggested that I should join the Boxing club which I wanted to do but was refused by the aunties.
The Froch fight ended around one am and later in the day I set off to Chester Le Street for Durham’s 40 40 game against Scotland fearing the worst after the team‘s bad defeat against Surrey in the same competition and the championship defeats against Somerset and Warwickshire all away from home. The wicket was closest to the Members pavilion so I could not sit over the wicked in the new stand development. I had been given the impression that an additional 2500 of fixed seating was going up in time for the one day game in July. There was no sign of this on arrival and the notice is no longer showing on the Club site.
It was a busy morning beforehand making a salmon salad to eat during the match together with cherries purchases the day before and a flask of iced water. I had also prepared lunch with a lamb steak in the oven with the rest of the tomato and beans and three new potatoes in skins purchased as a pack for £1 at the second of two £40 supermarket visits within three days. This was to qualify for a £5 discount and involved quite a lot of stocking up including clothes washing when I discovered they are no longer selling non biological tabs but have switched to liquid sachets. I resisted most goodies apart from a stock of Pepsi Max although I will restrict my use. I also bought a pack of four cornet ices and so far have only enjoyed. I am determined to make the push to below 16.7 now that the weather has improved for the better. I still need some fish resisting the rise in a new product to its full price having been at half for a couple of weeks. I did buy three large packs of prawns in shell which had been reduced from £4 to £3.
In addition to preparing food I made a visit just after opening to B and Q having send an announcement of 2 for 1 mix and match plants over the weekend. I had come to conclusion that apart from the broad beans the seedlings that have survived would not become productive plants before the end of season and certainly would not provide the kind of patio look I wanted. I was right that even by 10 am the best plants I had wanted had gone. I was after tomato plants and found only three that I considered worth buying. One originally £3.98 was marked for £2 and two marked at £1.84 each were available effectively at half price. I was more successful with salad peppers where I purchased a pack of six plants two each of Green red and yellow. The addition purchase which is regarded as a great experiment in a dozen corn of cob plants marked down for £1, possible because of the time and unlikelihood that the growth will be sufficient to achieve products. I also bought three flowering plants some red trailing impatiens, (busy lizzies), some red salvia and some yellow chrysanthemums. The flowering plants were placed on the tables facing my desk window or against the wall in the garage area so I can view from the kitchen when the vehicle in parked outside. I carried out the plantings on returning from the cricket during breaks from watching Leveson on Monday morning.
Back to the cricket I was immediately struck by the strength of the sun and pleased | had remembered to use a strong sun blocker, wore my hat and brought a jacket to put over my knees as I felt the heat burning through the fabric of my trousers. Durham had won the toss and elected to bowl. One bowler quickly demonstrated that irrespective of the condition he was in a class superior to everyone else. Graham Onion finished his 8 overs with one wicket for 27 runs, remarkable given the nature of the wicked as everyone else was find out. At the other end of the spectrum Liam Plunkett had rungs scored from his six overs with 1 wicket while young Borthwick 6 overs and 48 runs.
I readily admit that given the recent batting performances I speculated that even on a good wicket getting six runs an over for 40 overs would be too much and disaster threatened. Oh of so little faith for Stoneman 136 not out with 18 fours and 1 six broke the back of the runs required and the heart of several bowlers as together with captain Mustard 91 with 11 fours and 1 six the pair put on 207 runs for the first wicket. It then looked that having reduced the run rate required to 4 an over Stoneman and Stokes would carefully achieve the remaining runs by taking singles without pushing the score by attempting big hits. Stokes could not resist one opportunity and at that point with some 20 runs to get I made a leisurely start back to the car. I had struggled with the heat and tiredness during the match but overall the visit was satisfying. I had a brief sojourn before the interval in the Member’s lounge mainly to catch up with Test score which the announcer failed to mention and to overhear if there were any comments about the situation at the club overall although on such a day there were few members inside. The one exchange indicated a sense of disbelief and shock about what was happening and a need for surgical change.
Durham with two wins out of 3 are third in table in the second listed of three divisions of the 40 40 competition with Hampshire and Surrey three from three. It will be essential for Durham to start to win their away games as well as beating Surrey when they come of the Riverside if they are to get one of the semi final places open only to the team that heads the table of each division at the end of the 12 match series as well as the overall best runner up from all three divisions.
There had been much other sport over the weekend, too much to cope with and most had to be set aside. I did watch the Soccer Aid match from Manchester United’s ground on Sunday evening,. Soccer aid was the idea of Robbie Williams and his friend and former footballer John Wilkes some four years ago as a means of raising substantial funds for good causes on behalf of UNICEF and which enabled personalities from other spheres to play alongside former stars on the basis of an England Team versus the Rest of the World at Old Trafford in 2006. Interestingly the matches in 2010 and 2012 also attracted near full stadium crowds while the one held at Wembley stadium in 2008 achieved about half with 45000.
Some of those participating have become regulars Jamie Theaskston, Ben Shepherd, Gordon Ramsay while others on the list of soccer stars include Gascoigne, Ferdinand (Les), Barnes, Robson, Shearer, Zola, Ginola, and Schmeichael. Maradonna, Dunga, Paulo de Canio, Figo, Roy Keane, Crespo and Edwin De Saar, Tony Sheringham and Kevin Phillips.
Angus Deiton Sergei Federov,, Alistair Campbell, Craig David, Ricky Hatton Olly Murs, Mike Myers, Rupert Perry Jones, Michael Sheen, Will Ferrell Joe Calzaghe are among the celebs. with coaching staff Sam Alladyce, Kenny Dalgleish, Terry Venables, Ruud Giulet, Gus Poyet, Harry Rednapp, Bryn Robson and Peter Reid having roles.
Yesterday The Rest of the World went ahead with a brilliant intended goal by Serge Pizzorno an Italian background now British subject guitarist and song writer with the band Kasabian. England responded in the second half with three goals Sheringham, Phipps and Phillips. More people watched Soccer Aid that the TV BAFTAS on BBC 1.
I started to watch Warrington’s games against Widnes on the festival of Rugby Union when all 14 teams played local Derbies at the Manchester City Ground on Saturday 3 games and Sunday 4 Games. It was such a walkover as not to be interesting 68 point to 4 against a team which looks destined for the lower division after a series of calamities. Hull Kingston Roves beat Hull 32 30 in a reported close and exciting game, Wakefield beat Castleford, Leeds Bradford and the Catalan Dragons London Broncos. Salford had a narrow win over Huddersfield while leagues leaders Wigan smashed St Helens.
The top three teams have all lost 3 games Wigan points) Warrington (23) and Catalan Dragons (22) but they have a game in hand so does Hull beaten on Saturday with 19 points and Huddersfield is 4th with 20.
I watched Saturday’s practice of Monaco Grand Prix which is a curious race because no one can overtake so is the size of the track but there are frequent crashes because of driver error especially when it rains. Starting at the front of the grid is therefore essential.
I cannot give the results because someone at the BBC’s has made a pigs ear of the results but can confirm that Lewis Hamilton is now 4th in the drivers championship with Jenson 7th and still in the mix while their combined points leaves McLaren Mercedes second in the constructors table 108 points to Red Bull Renault on 145. Alonso head the drivers list with Vetted and Webber 2 and 3
The Rugby Union Cup took place at Twickenham and was on 3D TV Harlequins beat Leicester. Britain won three Gold’s and headed the medals table in the world rowing championships but Steve Red grave was far from happy, expecting much more. Britain male gymnasts beat Russia to take the Team Gold in the European championship an unthinkable result not so long ago.
I also managed to keep one eye on the second Test Match against the West Indies at Nottingham which England won unexpectedly by nine wickets today. I say unexpectedly because England after being 300 for 3 only went to make 428 after Strauss was out for 141 and Petersen 90 with a stand close to 100 for the third wicket. Yorkshire’s Bairstow was given a short ball torrid time going for 4 after Roach and stopped the no balling of the previous day. However the Windies then collapsed on Sunday evening (while I sweated watching Durham) to 66 for 6 overnight. Today the last 4 out made 100 more leaving England to get 111 runs to win. Strauss made 45 before being dismissed falling just short of 200 runs for this match and two centuries in the first games proving the backbone batsman as well as excellent captain he has always been.
Alas just as I was ready to consider a walk in sunshine it clouded over marking the end of the sun with cloud and some showers forecast for the week.
The weather continues to be glorious, not Mediterranean although I regret I could no longer cope with intense heat and yesterday I was out and about for the greater part of the day after having stayed up to watch Carl Froch knock out Lucien Bute the International Boxing federation super middle weight so called World title fight of Nottingham.
Professional Boxing has an established history of corruption, involvement of the Mafia and criminal dealings in general. There is money to be made by promoting Boxing events especially with the TV rights involved and through gambling which in turn leads to fighters being persuade to lose. There is also corruption of the officials hired to score events and to referee. There are also five competing bodies all claiming to put on World Title fights. The prize for these competitions apart from the contacted money with everyone getting their cut is gaudy belts,
The World Boxing Association (1962) is the oldest of the present four bodies which sanctions (licences bouts for an appropriate fee) and arose out of the National Boxing Association of the USA. The Association brands champions super if they hold two more of the weight titles from the four association competitions. Each Association has 18 World Champions or super champions according to weight with Minimum and Flyweight 105 lbs 48 kilos 109 lbs 49 kilos through to 200 lbs and 90.7 kilos and heavyweight which are over this amount of 14 stone and 4 lbs. You might therefore conclude that at anyone time there could be 72 World Champions topping bills around the World. In fact there is likely to be more than this because sometimes titles are disputed and the subject of legal and Association wrangle. The WBA has 1 vacant title at present, seven super champions and can be regarded as a genuine International body with only five of the weights held by a USA citizen with one of these Andre Ward mentioned last night as having won the recent Super six contest depriving Froch of his previous World Champion Title. Ward now holds titles recognised by three Associations and is the obvious next person Froch should meet
I also have heard and possibly seen one other of their present champions Vladimir Klitschko is the recognised heavy weight title holder by four of the bodies with his brother recognised by the 5th.
.
It is the International Boxing Federation (1983) which presently recognises Karl Froch as Super Middleweight after his victory against Bute and the only British fighter in their list with three from the USA, has been recognises heaving weight champion by the IBF since 2006. They have two champions since listed since 2009.
The World Boxing Council was established in 1963. They recognise Ward and also the brother of Vladimir as a separate heavyweight champion The IBO was founded in 199 and also recognises Vladimir and heavy weight champion. There is also the International Boxing association which awards titles. The European and International Boxing Unions are organisation which attempt to recognise and unify title competitions. The International bodies also sponsor similar competitions and titles for female boxers.
Froch is therefore the only recognised British champion at the present time. He was considered the underdog in the contest by some commentators in part because he had two previous defeats in his 30 professional fights whereas his opponent had nine and was regarded as someone who could take hard punching to his face and body. Some suggested however that he had been careful to fight primarily in his adopted home country of Canada and after the demolition he suffered he is unlikely to insist on having the contracted return bout if he lost. The undisputed British super champion title holder as this weight was Joe Calzaghe who has since retired. The number of present and former British boxers known to me are few with heavy weights Henry Cooper the best known along with Joe Bugner and Lennox Lewis, Ken Buchanon at lightweight, Freddie Mills, Randolph Turpin, Chick Caldewood, Chris Finnegan and John Conteh Light Heavyweight, Lloyd Honeghan at Welter, Terry Downs and Alan Minter at Middle, Pat Cowdell at superfly, Alan Rudkin at superfly and Terry Spinks, and Barry McQuigan at featherweight who was won of the commentators last light.
Amir Khan the Bolton British born boxer won the Olympic Lightweight Medal at the 2004 games when he was only 17. He should have become World BA and IBF light welter champion last year winning on points but being deprived of the title by a referring decision which was hotly contested. The winning boxer has since failed a drugs test before the planned rematch. As I have said the sport has been riddled with criminality of all kinds.
I only had one boxing match when a school boy which was stopped when I entered the Inter House boxing competition on a dare. It was suggested that I should join the Boxing club which I wanted to do but was refused by the aunties.
The Froch fight ended around one am and later in the day I set off to Chester Le Street for Durham’s 40 40 game against Scotland fearing the worst after the team‘s bad defeat against Surrey in the same competition and the championship defeats against Somerset and Warwickshire all away from home. The wicket was closest to the Members pavilion so I could not sit over the wicked in the new stand development. I had been given the impression that an additional 2500 of fixed seating was going up in time for the one day game in July. There was no sign of this on arrival and the notice is no longer showing on the Club site.
It was a busy morning beforehand making a salmon salad to eat during the match together with cherries purchases the day before and a flask of iced water. I had also prepared lunch with a lamb steak in the oven with the rest of the tomato and beans and three new potatoes in skins purchased as a pack for £1 at the second of two £40 supermarket visits within three days. This was to qualify for a £5 discount and involved quite a lot of stocking up including clothes washing when I discovered they are no longer selling non biological tabs but have switched to liquid sachets. I resisted most goodies apart from a stock of Pepsi Max although I will restrict my use. I also bought a pack of four cornet ices and so far have only enjoyed. I am determined to make the push to below 16.7 now that the weather has improved for the better. I still need some fish resisting the rise in a new product to its full price having been at half for a couple of weeks. I did buy three large packs of prawns in shell which had been reduced from £4 to £3.
In addition to preparing food I made a visit just after opening to B and Q having send an announcement of 2 for 1 mix and match plants over the weekend. I had come to conclusion that apart from the broad beans the seedlings that have survived would not become productive plants before the end of season and certainly would not provide the kind of patio look I wanted. I was right that even by 10 am the best plants I had wanted had gone. I was after tomato plants and found only three that I considered worth buying. One originally £3.98 was marked for £2 and two marked at £1.84 each were available effectively at half price. I was more successful with salad peppers where I purchased a pack of six plants two each of Green red and yellow. The addition purchase which is regarded as a great experiment in a dozen corn of cob plants marked down for £1, possible because of the time and unlikelihood that the growth will be sufficient to achieve products. I also bought three flowering plants some red trailing impatiens, (busy lizzies), some red salvia and some yellow chrysanthemums. The flowering plants were placed on the tables facing my desk window or against the wall in the garage area so I can view from the kitchen when the vehicle in parked outside. I carried out the plantings on returning from the cricket during breaks from watching Leveson on Monday morning.
Back to the cricket I was immediately struck by the strength of the sun and pleased | had remembered to use a strong sun blocker, wore my hat and brought a jacket to put over my knees as I felt the heat burning through the fabric of my trousers. Durham had won the toss and elected to bowl. One bowler quickly demonstrated that irrespective of the condition he was in a class superior to everyone else. Graham Onion finished his 8 overs with one wicket for 27 runs, remarkable given the nature of the wicked as everyone else was find out. At the other end of the spectrum Liam Plunkett had rungs scored from his six overs with 1 wicket while young Borthwick 6 overs and 48 runs.
I readily admit that given the recent batting performances I speculated that even on a good wicket getting six runs an over for 40 overs would be too much and disaster threatened. Oh of so little faith for Stoneman 136 not out with 18 fours and 1 six broke the back of the runs required and the heart of several bowlers as together with captain Mustard 91 with 11 fours and 1 six the pair put on 207 runs for the first wicket. It then looked that having reduced the run rate required to 4 an over Stoneman and Stokes would carefully achieve the remaining runs by taking singles without pushing the score by attempting big hits. Stokes could not resist one opportunity and at that point with some 20 runs to get I made a leisurely start back to the car. I had struggled with the heat and tiredness during the match but overall the visit was satisfying. I had a brief sojourn before the interval in the Member’s lounge mainly to catch up with Test score which the announcer failed to mention and to overhear if there were any comments about the situation at the club overall although on such a day there were few members inside. The one exchange indicated a sense of disbelief and shock about what was happening and a need for surgical change.
Durham with two wins out of 3 are third in table in the second listed of three divisions of the 40 40 competition with Hampshire and Surrey three from three. It will be essential for Durham to start to win their away games as well as beating Surrey when they come of the Riverside if they are to get one of the semi final places open only to the team that heads the table of each division at the end of the 12 match series as well as the overall best runner up from all three divisions.
There had been much other sport over the weekend, too much to cope with and most had to be set aside. I did watch the Soccer Aid match from Manchester United’s ground on Sunday evening,. Soccer aid was the idea of Robbie Williams and his friend and former footballer John Wilkes some four years ago as a means of raising substantial funds for good causes on behalf of UNICEF and which enabled personalities from other spheres to play alongside former stars on the basis of an England Team versus the Rest of the World at Old Trafford in 2006. Interestingly the matches in 2010 and 2012 also attracted near full stadium crowds while the one held at Wembley stadium in 2008 achieved about half with 45000.
Some of those participating have become regulars Jamie Theaskston, Ben Shepherd, Gordon Ramsay while others on the list of soccer stars include Gascoigne, Ferdinand (Les), Barnes, Robson, Shearer, Zola, Ginola, and Schmeichael. Maradonna, Dunga, Paulo de Canio, Figo, Roy Keane, Crespo and Edwin De Saar, Tony Sheringham and Kevin Phillips.
Angus Deiton Sergei Federov,, Alistair Campbell, Craig David, Ricky Hatton Olly Murs, Mike Myers, Rupert Perry Jones, Michael Sheen, Will Ferrell Joe Calzaghe are among the celebs. with coaching staff Sam Alladyce, Kenny Dalgleish, Terry Venables, Ruud Giulet, Gus Poyet, Harry Rednapp, Bryn Robson and Peter Reid having roles.
Yesterday The Rest of the World went ahead with a brilliant intended goal by Serge Pizzorno an Italian background now British subject guitarist and song writer with the band Kasabian. England responded in the second half with three goals Sheringham, Phipps and Phillips. More people watched Soccer Aid that the TV BAFTAS on BBC 1.
I started to watch Warrington’s games against Widnes on the festival of Rugby Union when all 14 teams played local Derbies at the Manchester City Ground on Saturday 3 games and Sunday 4 Games. It was such a walkover as not to be interesting 68 point to 4 against a team which looks destined for the lower division after a series of calamities. Hull Kingston Roves beat Hull 32 30 in a reported close and exciting game, Wakefield beat Castleford, Leeds Bradford and the Catalan Dragons London Broncos. Salford had a narrow win over Huddersfield while leagues leaders Wigan smashed St Helens.
The top three teams have all lost 3 games Wigan points) Warrington (23) and Catalan Dragons (22) but they have a game in hand so does Hull beaten on Saturday with 19 points and Huddersfield is 4th with 20.
I watched Saturday’s practice of Monaco Grand Prix which is a curious race because no one can overtake so is the size of the track but there are frequent crashes because of driver error especially when it rains. Starting at the front of the grid is therefore essential.
I cannot give the results because someone at the BBC’s has made a pigs ear of the results but can confirm that Lewis Hamilton is now 4th in the drivers championship with Jenson 7th and still in the mix while their combined points leaves McLaren Mercedes second in the constructors table 108 points to Red Bull Renault on 145. Alonso head the drivers list with Vetted and Webber 2 and 3
The Rugby Union Cup took place at Twickenham and was on 3D TV Harlequins beat Leicester. Britain won three Gold’s and headed the medals table in the world rowing championships but Steve Red grave was far from happy, expecting much more. Britain male gymnasts beat Russia to take the Team Gold in the European championship an unthinkable result not so long ago.
I also managed to keep one eye on the second Test Match against the West Indies at Nottingham which England won unexpectedly by nine wickets today. I say unexpectedly because England after being 300 for 3 only went to make 428 after Strauss was out for 141 and Petersen 90 with a stand close to 100 for the third wicket. Yorkshire’s Bairstow was given a short ball torrid time going for 4 after Roach and stopped the no balling of the previous day. However the Windies then collapsed on Sunday evening (while I sweated watching Durham) to 66 for 6 overnight. Today the last 4 out made 100 more leaving England to get 111 runs to win. Strauss made 45 before being dismissed falling just short of 200 runs for this match and two centuries in the first games proving the backbone batsman as well as excellent captain he has always been.
Alas just as I was ready to consider a walk in sunshine it clouded over marking the end of the sun with cloud and some showers forecast for the week.
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