Khan can't help himself

Amir Khan faces Pauli Malignaggi this weekend in New York and is a clear favourite to dispatch of the American in similar fashion to which fellow countryman Ricky Hatton did 18 months ago.

However, while the Hitman was, and still is, a fans’ favourite in the UK, Khan has yet to win a large fan base in this country.

Some put this down to racial prejudice with the Bolton fighter being a strict Muslim from a family which descends from Pakistan but while some bigots may think like that, it is not the reason most boxing fans dislike him.

Prince Naseem Hamed had no problem earning the respect of fight fans this side of the Atlantic despite his arrogance as he brought glamour to the sport in Britain.

But while the British nation cheered a 17-year-old Khan to an Olympic silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games, many were soon turned off the Bolton boy wonder when he turned professional.

Many, including myself, were enraged by his arrogance and the way he put himself about at such a young age. He spoke as if he deserved to be a champion already, when he was just simply a boy in a man’s game.

And when Breidis Prescott knocked him flat on his back within a round in September 2008, fight fans cheered and a fair few smiles were raised.

However, Khan changed, or at least I thought he did, when he started working with coach Freddie Roach. He seemed to focus on his boxing again, just like the 17-year-old amateur that the nation went wild for. I began warming to him and by following him on the social networking site, Twitter, it was clear to see he was focused on training hard and being a top professional.

However, when Carl Froch, who did publically criticise Khan in the past, lost out to Mikkel Kessler last month, Khan made a massive error and showed yet again his immaturity which must have had his promoters cringing.

Khan used both his social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter, to lambast Froch and publically mock his fellow countryman in the wake of the defeat.

Now while Froch is also another fighter who is not liked by many, and had harshly criticised Khan, the Bolton fighter should have had the sense to get past this and not ruin the rebuilding of his reputation.

Boxing is a gentleman’s game and all pre-fight tension between fighters is usually put behind them when the final bell rings (see Mayweather v Mosley) but Khan has no respect for his fellow professionals and there lies the reason why many dislike him.

This was soon followed by a ridiculous claim by Khan that in 12 months time he will be ready to face Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. Yet again he embarrassed himself.

Khan needs at least three years to get anywhere near the level of those two greats and must yet get past the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez before he could even consider stepping through the ropes to face Mayweather or his gym partner Pacquiao.

It was another case of disrespect from Khan and he wonders why many within the sport don’t respect him or take him seriously. He needs to be told to focus on his boxing and turn the fantastic skill he has into the finished article or he will soon be ditched by promoters, coaches and even those fans that stand by him.

French flop Benzema pays for costly error

As Karim Benzema sits down today to book his summer holiday, fresh in the knowledge that he won’t be at this year’s World Cup with France, I wonder will it play on his mind the decision he made last summer to join his apparently ‘beloved’ Real Madrid instead of Manchester United.

The Reds had coveted the talented finisher for a number of years as he led the line for Lyon, who dominated the French League in the noughties.

However, last summer when the United transfer kitty was apparently bulging after the exit of Ronaldo to Madrid, the English club were outbid by the Spanish giants for the French striker.

Benzema had his heart set on Madrid, despite being keen on a move to United the previous year, but I’m sure the extra zeros on the contract at the Bernabeu helped him change his mind.

A lot was expected of Benzema, he cost €35million and it was presumed he would lead the line for the Galacticos with the experienced Raul coming to the end of his illustrious career.

However, he has only featured mainly as a substitute this season with his cameo appearances only bringing 8 goals in a La Liga campaign which Madrid have scored goals for fun at stages.

It came as no surprise to me then yesterday when Raymond Domenech left Benzema out of France’s World Cup squad for South Africa.

Domenech has made some crazy decisions during his tenure as boss of France but, while some may be disappointed by his decision to leave the striker out, the majority will understand why.

Strikers need to have confidence and going into the World Cup they need to be in form, Benzema is not, but it could have been so different.

Last summer he took a professional risk. He saw the money at Madrid. He saw the revolution that was taking place and he wanted in but it proved to be a costly error for his career, if not his pocket.

United had lost a 35 goals-a-season midfielder and were in desperate need of added firepower, Benzema was their target and was seen as an excellent strike partner for Wayne Rooney.

The Frenchman was sure to be a regular starter at Old Trafford, obviously as long as he settled in well, and he could now be heading to meet up with his international team-mates to prepare for the biggest stage in world football.

But yet again we have another footballer who would rather risk sitting on the bench with a fat pay cheque than the guarantee of first team football elsewhere.

It’s not like United are a small club, and maybe with Benzema they would now be celebrating winning the title but, with Sir Alex Ferguson apparently thinking of another attempt to lure him to Old Trafford this summer, maybe he should think twice about trying to sign the French flop, using last year as an eye-opener to Benzema’s real hunger for money rather than football.

Mayweather v Mosley: Creating History

Floyd Mayweather is preparing for what could be his toughest fight yet as he gets ready to face the experienced and powerful Sugar Shane Mosley on Saturday in Las Vegas.

This is set to be a classic fight that could go down in history as one of the greatest - should it be as exciting as it looks on paper.

Two fast-punching fighters going toe-to -toe - one with the tactical know-how to pick apart any opponent, the other with the power capable of knocking out anyone at his weight - is more than enough to whet the appetite of any sports fan.

However, while some fights that have the potential to be classics they don’t always turn out to be, but this bout is sure to go down in history for a another reason at least.

Mayweather against Mosley is the first professional boxing contest to include US Olympic style drug testing in the run-up and aftermath of the fight.

That means both boxers have been subjected to random blood and urine testing during their training camps and any failed test from either fighter will automatically mean the cancellation of the event.

Mayweather was keen to introduce the testing, claiming there are too many fighters dying in the ring due to ‘cheating’ and it led to the breakdown in talks between his promoters, and the representatives of Manny Pacquiao when they tried to set-up a super fight between the pair.

Pacquiao was reluctant to take the blood tests, deeming them likely to weaken him during his training but many questioned his stance, and questioned again if he was using steroids.

However, he would have put himself at risk as if he lost people would have claimed he can’t win without drugs, not everyone but some.

Mosley has no such worries apparently, he is confident of beating Mayweather and he is out to prove he doesn’t need drugs to succeed.

The WBA World Welterweight Champion spoke at the high-profile Balco case and admitted he took, unknown to him, performance enhancing substances.

More videos have emerged in recent days with Mosley admitting he did know he was taking EPO but this is irrelevant for this fight, there won’t be EPO and Mosley can put all that behind him IF he beats Mayweather.

It’s a brave decision by Mosley he is putting himself out on a limb as, like Pacquiao, even if he has been clean, a loss would raise questions.

If for some reason on the night he feels tired, lacks the power we have seen before or does not look like the Shane Mosley who has knocked out 39 of his 52 opponents then people won’t just question his age but also his honesty.

However, Mosley deserves respect for agreeing to the demands of Mayweather’s camp, albeit probably being slightly tempted by the huge pay cheque that comes with facing the self-proclaimed ‘biggest name in boxing’ being part of it.

Hopefully this will set a precedent in boxing and open the eyes of the sport’s authorities and they will enforce more stringent testing in the future.

That remains to be seen but one thing for sure is that Floyd Mayweather Jr against Shane Mosley will go down in history, for one, if not two reasons.

Croker closure is a mistake

So the IRFU’s time at Croke Park has ended on a somewhat sad note with the defeat by Scotland and the failure to claim the Triple Crown but this disappointment will be nothing compared to what the GAA must be feeling as they look at the accounts.

Since Croke Park finally opened its doors to ‘foreign sports’ back in February 2007 after years of political debate about the issue, it has been a revelation for Irish sport.

The GAA received a massive cash injection thanks to deals done with the IRFU and the FAI as well as any additional gate receipts they took as part of the deal.

The amount the GAA is reportedly to have raised by allowing the use of their stadium is €36million, and this came at a time of financial recession.

It also gave the GAA a use for Croke Park in the winter months when it is rarely used.

If the GAA had not been so stubborn over the past decade, and had they not voted no to a change in ‘Rule 42’ (a rule that only allows GAA sports to be played on GAA grounds) in 2001, then we may have continued to see rugby and soccer played at the country’s best stadium in the future.

The IRFU and FAI were forced to plan the redevelopment of the crumbling Lansdowne Road after the collapse of the Irish governments plan for a national arena and the GAA’s stance on the use of their headquarters.

They spent millions of Euros that could have been reinvested in developing both sports and building a smaller stadium that would be suited to hosting less glamorous internationals, AIB Cup finals,FAI Cup finals, etc.

Instead we will have the Aviva Stadium, no doubt a fine ground, but it’s 50,000 capacity is too big for the above mentioned finals and too small for Six Nations rugby and crucial soccer qualifiers.

In the past four years, rugby in Ireland has grown dramatically in popularity due to the success of the national team, and Croke Park was the venue as Ireland picked up their first Grand Slam in 61 years as Ireland beat France, England and Italy at GAA headquarters in 2009.

The fact that 82,000 people could watch those events obviously helped raise the interest in the game, while also creating a much louder atmosphere. The smaller attendance in the Aviva Stadium will obviously make it more difficult for fans to get to games and what the atmosphere will be like in the redeveloped, and so called ‘spiritual home', remains to be seen.

The same goes for soccer, while it has always been a popular game in Ireland, the move to Croke Park has allowed many more fans experience a competitive home international match rather than just a meaningless friendly when tickets were more easily available at the old Lansdowne Road. Maybe that chance helped young fans to become more proud of their country’s football team and not just the big English clubs they support.

However, it is not the fault of the IRFU or the FAI that this has happened. Some have said more pressure from them on the GAA may have helped to keep Croke Park open to other sports but it would have been too late - the redevelopment had begun, the investment was made and the GAA had made its bed when the success of the move had become apparent.

Obviously, the GAA would have had to vote again on the issue but given the success of the past few years, it is unlikely they would have said no.

The GAA has shot itself in the foot. They may say they have not budgeted for the additional income from international events but the fact of the matter is rugby and soccer internationals created a massive amount of revenue and also indirectly increased the popularity of Gaelic Games.

When fans travelled from different countries to watch their nations do battle with Irish rugby and soccer teams at Croke Park, many returned to visit the stadium’s museum and no doubt grew to appreciate the importance of GAA to Ireland’s culture.

So now when the likes of Kerry, Kilkenny, Cork and Dublin are not bringing the crowds to Croke Park then the GAA will have to turn to Westlife and Bono rather than Brian O’Driscoll and Robbie Keane to keep the money rolling in at Headquarters.

And it’s a shame that they would rather glitzy pop stars swagger in front of Hill 16 rather than Irish sporting heroes competing against the world's best.

Reds should be wary of the Knights

So the Red Knights are attempting to ride into Old Trafford on a crusade to apparently save Manchester United from the American cowboys that have slung one of the world’s biggest football clubs into a £700million debt.

The Glazers are reluctant to sell. Mainly because they bought United for one reason, and one reason only - to earn a profit - but they have been unable to do so yet because of the global recession.

Therefore, in any normal business sense, it is too big a loss to ‘cut and run’ yet so they are prepared to ride the proverbial storm until they can potentially reap the rewards of the huge financial risk they took to take the club off the stock market in 2005.

January saw Red Football Ltd, the parent group of Manchester United FC, announce a huge £700million debt that sparked an outcry from Reds fans who were led to believe that the deficit had grown by £200m from the £500m figure that was mooted about when the Glazer’s purchased the club. In fact, the figure has never risen, in fact it has dropped, not by enough but it has.

The ‘Green and Gold Until Our Club Is Sold’ campaign begun and has been of relative success – making a point to the owners that the fans are not happy but also still getting behind the team.

I agree that the Glazers need to be pushed out to secure the future of United as the large debt they have amassed, along with their hit and miss success rate in business, has left the club in a precarious position.

However, are these ‘Red Knights’ the people that can pull the club out of their poor financial state? What are their intentions? Have they got the finances? Will they be able to continually strengthen the team?

These are just some of the questions that fans need to ask before giving them their support and backing them.

Supporters will also have to realise that while these Knights in red shining armour, who are out to rid the club of all things Glazer, claim to be lifelong United fans, if they get invest heavily into the club then their business heads will be put on straight away.

They will be successful business men if they have the cash to stump up an offer for one of the biggest football clubs in the world, thus they will have all the attributes that go with financial success including ruthlessness and the constant want for profit.

So those fans who are thinking that because the ‘Red Knights’ wear the red shirts they will automatically do what every fan wants, think again. Don’t think they won’t raise ticket prices. Don’t think they will buy Kaka. Don’t think they will drop the price of merchandise. They will do what is best for their pockets.

If they have the financial muscle to provide what United fans want then they will be good for the club, there is no doubt about that.

The main worry I have with this consortium is Keith Harris being in control. The financing wheeler dealer who shares the name with the ventriloquist famous for the Orville The Duck puppet has been sounding like a muppet.

In January when the news broke of the apparent increase in debt, Harris was straight in heaping blame on the Glazers and calling for the fans to protest. He also claimed that a group was already set-up to look at a bid to buy the club.

More recently, when Harris spoke out about the ‘Green and Gold’ campaign, he called for fans to do more and start boycotting games.

Boycotting games? Stop buying merchandise? Why? Isn’t it starkly obvious? Harris is trying to remove some of the prestige around the club so that the Glazers will look to sell and at a lower price. Harris seems to be more of the ‘Green and mould’ campaign.

United fans have to remember that the club is not like Manchester City or Chelsea who have been made mega-rich by the owners.

Granted the Reds have always had a strong financial backing that is more than most other clubs but the brand of the club, and the success in the stock markets, was built on the 90’s domination of English football that made United a world renowned successful club that was attractive for investors and sponsors.

Why should fans who have spent a lot of money on season tickets, who enjoy going to a game at the weekend and who have built their social lives around football just stop going to games? It won’t make any difference to the Glazers.

Ticket revenue makes up a fractional amount of United’s huge profits. Sponsorship and merchandise sold worldwide is what brings in the big bucks.

United need continued success to ensure that the sponsorship keeps coming. If fans start dropping off from going to support their team, apart from being unfair on the players, it could also have an effect on results on the pitch.

It seems to be that Harris, who played a pivotal part in the takeovers of Manchester City, West Ham and Aston Villa, has seen the money signs ringing again and has jumped at the chance of adding to his fortune.

He may be a United fan but as mentioned above, he’s an experienced business man and financial success will come first for him.

The Glazers need to go but Manchester United supporter groups should be wary of who they back in a bid to buy them out.