Dancing Fool : The Boxing Fool

A friend sent me this video via my Facebook profile. As a former boxer and a huge fan of the sport I could never stand the showboating athlete. Whether it is in the ring, the arena or on the gridiron, my philosophy has been, go in, do what you have to do and get out. Sports are about efficiency and economy of movement. When an announcer describes an athlete as 'catlike', it is not because they scratch, it is because the cat, graceful, uses the least amount of energy to fulfill its goal.



To set up the video, Usman Ahmed is a boxer fighting out of Dernyshire, United Kingdom. He stands at 5'6" and fights in the 110 to 112 pound range, so therefore a Flyweight. The 29 year old right hander Ahmed has a record of 6-4-1, with one loss coming by KO. He also likes to dance. He doesn't dance well. His defence is also a little weak.
Ahmed's opponent in the video is the 5'5 1/2" Ashley Sexton, a 9-0 boxer, with 5 KO victories. At 23 years and 9 fights, it is hard to predict his future in the ring as he has been mostly a regional fighter with his bouts taking place in the Essex and London regions.



Since the above video was edited for impact and humour, I also have the full length fight as it played out in real time, minus most of the dancing.

If I mentioned that Ahmed is ranked 222nd worldwide, would you be surprised? Are you surprised that there are some 300 boxers ranked below him? Perhaps dancing does count for something.

Gary Moore RIP

Guitarist, singer, rocker and bluesman Gary Moore died suddenly today in Spain. He was 59 years old. Originally from Belfast, Moore, was best known as a solo guitarist and singer. His ability to switch from a Peter Green styled intensity to a slashing Stevie Ray Vaughan lick came across effortlessly in his music.
Moore played with Thin Lizzy in the early 70s and performed with some of the greatest Blues acts of the last thirty years. He released twenty solo albums and toured off and on with Thin Lizzy starting in the 1970s, and later in 2006.

In 2001 Moore released Back to the Blues. The disc featured a cover of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday", and the Yardbirds' gem "I Ain't Got You". A couple Moore originals, the atmspheric "Pictures Of The Moon" and the instrumental song "The Prophet".
From Back to the Blues, this is "Looking Back".

And the haunting "Stormy Monday"

Back to the Blues

Gang Violence

Results of the Canadian Police Survey on Youth Crime suggests that youth gangs are a growing concern in many parts of Canada. Gun violence in major cities has additionally been a concern, especially in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal. In 2005, the number of gang-related homicides rose to 16% of all homicides. In the United States, after nearly five years of decline from 1999 to 2004, gang problems seem to be on the rise. We must do whatever we can to end these occurrences of violence, such as shown in the video below.



Even Star Wars can't stop gang violence.

Super Bowl Roethlisberger Burger

According to the New York Daily News the most popular food on Super Bowl Sunday is of all things, vegetables. My football Sunday has always been about pizza and beer or subs and beer. This Sunday's Green Bay Packers versus Pittsburgh Steelers game is odds on to be the favourite weekend pastime. The game pits Aaron Rodgers against Big Ben Roethlisberger. But wait a second. I'm talking about food here. Maybe it's the Roethlisburger. The folks over at We Work for Cheese, always on the hunt for the perfect cheese burger came up with this gem just in time for Super Bowl Weekend. What are the Vegas odds for this weekend anyway?