Category: Articles

Thoughts on a couple of Sports!

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It was a Friday evening a few months ago, and I had a ‘double’ in front of me.

A 6pm kick off at Toorak Park for the Stonnington Gift to watch my son run, and then onto the boxing at Doncaster. As you do.

My wife wasn’t overly happy but my 16 year old son was on cloud nine. Sport all night, no homework and\or jobs to do at home. It was teenage heaven.

Just as a side note, I had a hunch his enthusiasm had a little bit to do with the ‘ring card’ girls.

I invited my wife to the boxing. The Shoppingtown hotel does a great ‘parma’. Wash it down with a nice cask moselle, add in the fights, and you have a great night in the making.

Strangely enough, she declined.

I often wonder, do any females actually like boxing?

In an unusual way, both boxing and professional athletics have a lot in common. Having struggled for years to gain mainstream popularity, and with a lack of sponsorship and media support, both are now considered ‘boutique’.

With a small but passionate support base, both sports labour under modern day pressures of having to compete against corporate sporting giants like the AFL, A-League and the NRL.

Whilst I have no proof, I am almost certain these goliaths of sport actually pay to lock other sports out of mainstream media.

With significant historical cache attached to pro running and boxing, I wonder why the government doesn’t chip in.

Maybe they do and I don’t know about it, but to my way of thinking if millions of dollars of funding can be injected into the likes of professional tennis and players like Nick Kyrgios, then surely a little bit can be used to assist sports like professional athletics and Boxing. This is an argument for another day.

Unless you are Anthony Mundine, there are not many fighters making money in Australia. Love him or hate him, his antics bring punters through the door. Most of the industry isn’t so lucky.

Around the country, small boxing shows survive with the fighters themselves selling tickets to families and friends.

It’s a self-funding ‘thing’ and it works well. Small crowds file into halls and ballrooms around the country supporting the local boxing hero. It’s a practice that supports an industry.

In many ways professional sprinting is going the same way. A large proportion of the sponsorship money comes from current or former athletes and its only family and friends that attend race meetings. The price of entry to a Gift meeting is now considered a donation. In my mind anyway.

There are most likely dozens of reasons why once great sports like these have declined, but again this is a discussion for another day.

Populated by hard core, rusted on volunteers, boxing and pro running survive with people doing ‘lots’ for very little. Its life for these sports and it keeps the wheels turning.

Joy Cox and Murray Thomson are two of those people.

Professional running has the rather unusual quirk of having athletes race in coloured singlets.

Steeped in history, each athlete wears a colour dependant on where they start in a race. For example, the backmarker in every race wears a red singlet.

Before each race, runners must report for a ‘colour’ and sign in. This is Joy Cox’s world.

Part of the pro running scene for over 20 years, there isn’t anybody she doesn’t know in the sport.

Easy going and always smiling, Joy is one of those who gives time and energy to a sport she loves.

Murray Thomson is just the same. Having completed his 71st professional boxing show, in many ways he has been the mainstay of the fight scene in Melbourne for the best part of 20 years.

Not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, Murray’s promotions have not only given kids a start in the game and taken them off the street, but helped maintain a sport that has been ‘on the ropes’ for over a decade.

Sports like boxing and professional athletics are significant parts of Australian history and driving from the Stonnington Gift to the fights one Friday evening, got me thinking about both.

As an interesting side note, I dropped into the harness racing on the way back to Melbourne after pro running meeting in Ballarat not long ago.

The trots, now that’s another story………

 

Boxing Observations and Andy Broome

 

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I love boxing but I have never boxed a ‘round’ in my life. To those that have, I am nothing more than a groupie.

On refection, I probably enjoy the sport simply because I couldn’t do it. You could say that it’s not ‘in me’.

I would win a fight by the length of the straight. I laugh about it now, reminding myself that athletics was more my go anyway.

This may sound strange but I wish I did have it ‘in me’. I wished I was as tough as the blokes that stepped in the squared ring. Tough enough to train hard, tough enough to take a punch and tough enough to come back from it.

When it’s all boiled down, I liked the physical, brutal application of man versus man. A physical toughness that you either have, or you don’t.

Boxing doyen Gus Mercurio summed it up best when he suggested, ‘some people won’t do it and can’t do it’.

I grew up in a town called Shepparton in country Victoria. The local boxing hero in the 70s and 80s was a bloke by the name of Darcy Richie. He was one tough ‘hombre’ but a nice enough bloke just the same.

Better judges than me thought Darcy was a world champion in the making. In his heyday nobody wanted to fight him. Unfortunately for ‘Darc’ a couple of stints in prison didn’t help his cause.

One day, in a fit of blind stupor, I went to Darcy to learn how to fight. The consensus after a session was simply that ‘you can’t turn a pig’s ear into a silk purse’.

So with my boxing career clearly behind me, I became an avid fan of both the sport and those that inhabit it.

Drilling down further, my liking for the sport started specifically in 1985. I was 15 years old and it was a banner year for Australian boxing.

In February of ‘85, 19 year old Melbourne fighter, Lester Ellis won the International Boxing Federation Junior Lightweight title by beating a Korean with the rather crazy name of Hwan Kil Yuh.

Five months later, veteran Barry Michael took the title from Ellis, in a 15 round war roundly acknowledged as one of Australia’s greatest fights.

In the same year, and in only his 7th professional fight, Sydneysider Jeff Fenech, affectionately known as ‘The Marrickville Mauler’, was on the way to becoming a legend of the sport by beating Japanese fighter Satoshi Shingaki to win the IBF Bantamweight crown.

It was a grandstand year for Australian boxing, and personally the start of a lifelong love affair with the fight game.

Barry Michael remains a constant in the sport these days, now 60 years of age the former world champion promotes regular shows around Melbourne. He also manages a few fighters including world rated Super Middleweight, Zac Dunn.

It was at one of Barry’s promotions at the Melbourne Pavilion early in November that I met Andy Broome and learned a bit about the fight game.

Andy had 54 professional fights across 11 years as a pro. He finished with a solid record of 31 wins, 16 losses and 7 draws and won the Australian Super Lightweight title in 1981.

The Melbourne Pavilion is a nice venue and Andy Broome is an even nicer bloke. I didn’t know him at all before he introduced himself and other than his beaming smile he grabbed my attention when he explained that he lost a fight to Barry Michael a few years ago.

Over the load music and crowd noise, Andy explained that Barry beat him in a Victorian Lightweight title fight way back in ’75. To his credit he also said that he was beaten fair and square. Respect is carved in stone with older fighters and I wondered if modern day fighters are the same.

Former Australian champion Frank Ropis described Andy as a good bloke, a gentleman and an exceptional fighter plying his trade in perhaps the toughest era of Australian boxing. High praise from one of the greats.

In an interesting side note, Andy fought Frank four times for three losses and a draw.

Other than his Australian Super Lightweight title, perhaps Andy’s biggest win came against Ghanaian David Kotey in 1972.

The undefeated Kotey took on Broome at Melbourne’s festival Hall and in a surprise upset, the Aussie gloveman came away with a clear cut point’s victory.

Kotey eventually won the World Boxing Council Featherweight title in 1975 by beating the great Mexican fighter Ruben Olivares. Most Australian boxing fans would know Olivares as the fighter that dethroned our own Lionel Rose.

Andy Broome is an easy going, jovial guy and he spoke of the old days and how boxing used to be. He rarely attends ‘the fights’ these days but remembers fight nights on every single week back in his day.

In the ‘50s,‘60s and early 70s there were bouts on each Friday night at Festival Hall, then known as the West Melbourne stadium. There were also fight nights on Wednesdays and the wrestling on Saturday night which included boxing. These days we might be lucky to see one fight night per month.

Sitting next to Andy was like being mentored. He commented on the crowd, the fighters themselves and provided general analysis on what was going on. In most bouts he could pick the winner only minutes after the start of the first round and he seemed to have a knack for picking up the ‘holes’ in a fighter’s technique. He even called a knockout moments before it happened. Good fighters who have been well schooled know about the fight game.

During the evening two boxers fought for a Victorian title, both having fought less than a handful of times each. When Andy fought for the Victorian title 40 years ago, he had racked up 28 fights. In his mind it’s a sign of the times. Who wants to fight, there are plenty of easier things to do. Back in his day that’s all there was to do.

On this night, names like Bilal Akkawy, Ismael Kerra and Abdullah Hamden are dotted throughout the program. With origins in faraway lands it’s certainly a long way from names like Broome, Fenech, Michael and Ellis. Again it’s probably a sign of the times and multicultural Australia.

What is interesting is the fact that both Barry Michael and Lester Ellis were born in England and Jeff Fenech is of Maltese decent. As much as boxing changes, it stays the same.

Boxing is strewn with tough men who have laced on the gloves for pay. Blokes that were tough enough to train hard, tough enough to take a punch and tough enough to keep coming back.

Andy Broome was one of those guys and I watch from afar in admiration of the sport and fighters like Andy, the real fighters, the blokes that had it ‘in them”.

 

Boxing – Scott Brouwer.

The Gentleman of Australian Boxing

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Famous for its violence and savagery, boxing sits comfortably as the world’s most aggressive sport.

Populated by tough, brutal athletes and amongst the broken noses, scar tissue and testosterone of Australian boxing, one individual stands alone.

Scott Brouwer is perhaps best described as a contradiction. With a middle class upbringing in the Melbourne suburb of Mornington, and with little or no DNA lending itself to a career as a fighter, Brouwer seems out of place in the rough and tumble world that is professional boxing in Australia.

Like a feint, appearances can be deceiving, and put simply, Scott Brouwer was a fighting machine. A speed demon with lightning reflexes, silk in both hands and a rare level of toughness.

The 46 year old financial planner and father of two, is a quietly spoken, well-groomed, clean cut guy. Comfortable in a suit and tie, he doesn’t appear to fit the mould of a fighter.

Possessing a whip like jab, the winner of 20 professional fights from 1987 through to 1993, Brouwer was world ranked in his heyday.

Described by well know boxing trainer Keith Ellis, as the most courageous fighter he has ever seen, these days Brouwer can be seen sitting ringside, in his role as the Combat Sports Board representative.

The humble former gloveman is responsible for not only a fighter’s safety but also for ensuring bouts and promotions are run in accordance with government regulations. In a sport well known for back room dealings and tricks, it’s a tough gig.

He is well liked, polite, unassuming and goes about his business on fight night, with little fuss or fanfare.

As a fighter, he fought for the WBC International lightweight title when it meant something, and the only blemishes on his boxing record, were four losses and a draw.

The subject of a 60 minutes story in the 80s, Scott Brouwer wasn’t a household name, but he could have been.

Former trainer and mentor Leigh Thomas, saw him as a world champion in the making.

“He had all the tools. He was quick and he could take a punch. There is no doubt he was world class”, Thomas said.

“He sparred with Lester Ellis, Barry Michael, Graeme Brook, Wilf Gentzen and Tony Miller. He sparred Jeff Fenech a lot and didn’t have any trouble with him. When he sparred these guys he did very well”.

“In hindsight, sparring these high quality fighters was probably his downfall. After all these guys finished their careers, his sparring wasn’t to the same level. As he increased the quality of his own opponents, his sparring level dropped. I truly believe this was the reason he didn’t win a world title.”

As a fighter Brouwer had good footwork and moved well. He sometimes kept his hands low but was good enough to slip a punch and launch a counter attack in between heart beats.

Thin and wiry, he was built like his hero, former IBF Junior Lightweight Champion Lester Ellis.

“Lester was my idol. We trained together and we became mates and probably sparred 1000s of rounds together. In Lester, I saw a similar physique to myself and it gave me a little bit of hope”, Brouwer said.

After a short 13 fight amateur career, he turned to the paid professional ranks.

“I turned pro in 1987 because as an amateur it was difficult to get fights. Sometimes I had to travel all over Victoria doing exhibition bouts and I would prefer to win money than win an egg cup”.

In 1988 and at only 18 years of age, he won the Australian Super bantamweight title in his seventh professional fight. By 1992 had built a record of 18 wins with a couple of losses and a draw, and his attention turned to offshore riches.

Looking for a shot at the big time and a potential world title, he travelled to England and took on a hard punching, undefeated British fighter by the name of Michael Ayers.

Fighting for the WBC International title and a top 10 world ranking, Brouwer was stopped in four rounds.

“The Ayers fight was my biggest disappointment. I really wanted it. I wanted to earn respect and be world champion”, Brouwer said.

Whilst the loss to Ayers put a world title beyond reach, it came as a surprise to learn that his personal highlight was actually a fight he didn’t win.

“Ken Carter and I actually had two fights. We drew the first one and I will never forget it. It was an amazing experience. We both didn’t take a backward step”.

Held on Valentine’s Day 1990, the fight with Carter was roundly acknowledged as fight of the year, and those in attendance still talk about it.

Carter (18 wins and five losses at the time) and Brouwer, went ‘at it’ for 10 rounds, in what has been called one of Australia’s greatest fights.

Radio Commentator and boxing aficionado Bruce Eva, described the fight as one of the best he has ever seen.

“Everyone thought Scott would box. Ken Carter was a nuggetty puncher type, and Scott was a thin, rangy, slick boxer. Scott decided not to box and he went toe to toe with one of Australia’s most fearsome lightweights at the time. It was one of the best fights I have witnessed”, he said.

Reflecting on the night, Brouwer remembers it fondly but admits it was the start of the end.

“We stood toe to toe for 10 rounds. In reality we both weren’t the same after that fight. It was gruelling. You can only have one or two of those fights in your career”.

“For me that was the highlight, I had nothing left. I left nothing in the ring and that’s why it stands out for me”.

After the intensity of the first fight, the rematch was almost an anticlimax, with Brouwer stopping the tough Carter in the ninth round.

He retired from boxing in 1993 after being knocked out in New Caledonia, and only 11 days after his son was born. Finishing with a career record of 20 wins, 4 losses and a draw, like most new fathers his priorities had changed.

With a wife of 22 years and two adult kids, Brouwer takes his position as the combat sports board representative seriously. Whilst passionate in the ring as a fighter, he is even more passionate outside it.

“We licence all combat sports in Victoria and ensure everything runs smoothly in accordance with regulations.

With many ‘a corner cut’ in boxing, he plays a vital role in maintaining a sport that has a history of controversy.

“We keep an eye on the alcohol, the taping under gloves, medical tests and ensure the fighters are being looked after the correct way”.

“The sport is rolling along and things are looking good. We have about 30 shows a year across Australia. The matches are getting better and we have some really good fighters coming up”.

In a sport littered with dark tales and controversy, the story of Scott Brouwer is a highlight and one that shouldn’t be dismissed or forgotten.

There is an old saying in boxing, that the final measure of a boxer is what kind of shape he is in when he leaves the ring for good.

Scott Brouwer is in good shape and so is the sport he loves.

Wangaratta Gift – Bombers history

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the Essendon football club have taken a battering of late.

With positive headlines slim pickings, a little known fact might just put smile on the frowning faces of bombers fans.

Whilst not going to make the sports pages of our major papers, what is interesting, is the fact that the Essendon Football Club has a unique relationship with the prestigious professional footrace, the Wangaratta Gift, being held this weekend.

First run in 1920 and considered in the top bracket of pro race meetings in Victoria, the “Wang” gift has long been a target of VFL footballers looking to keep fit and earn “a quid” in the off season. It just so happens that this “gift” has proved to be a happy hunting ground for Essendon footballers over the years.

Two time premiership player and winner of the 1951 Crichton medal, Norm McDonald, was the first Essendon footballer to win the race. At the height of his football career he took out the Wangaratta Gift in 1949.

Lance Mann, who played 77 games for the Bombers between 1951 and 1959, got over the line at “Wang” in 1952. In an interesting side note, he also won the Bendigo and Stawell Gifts in the same year. Further to that and in a quirky twist of fate, he beat Essendon compatriot Norm McDonald in the 1952 Stawell Gift.

Former winger Gary Parkes was another Windy Hill native to carry on the tradition when he won the 1978 edition.

After playing 96 games with the Bombers and seven games with Richmond, Parkes remembers the Wangaratta carnival fondly.

“It was one of the three or four gifts everyone wanted to win and I was lucky enough to win it. It is a great town Wang and I had a lot of fun”, he said.

For the small country Victorian town, “the gift” was a highlight of the year with sporting festivities strewn across three days with not only the running but bike racing, wood chopping and even a rodeo featuring.

Arguably Australia’s greatest ever cyclist, Syd Patterson, graced the bike track regularly and world champion woodchopper David Foster made regular appearances. For the town it was a special event.

“It was a carnival under lights and it was an amazing atmosphere. 15,000 people came to watch in the evening. The bikes and woodchop were great. They turned the lights off, except the ones on the track and it was just terrific”, Parkes remembers.

“As far as winning, for me it was about prestige. Sure the money was nice but I was just glad to win because I had spent a long time trying to win a decent race”.

A sign of the times, Marlboro cigarettes was a major sponsor in 1978 with Parkes taking homes cash and cartons of cigarettes as part of his winnings.

With time comes change, and the 2016 version of the Wangaratta Gift is somewhat different to its earlier edition.

VFL or AFL Players, now fully professional, are forbidden to take part in extracurricular activities in the off season. In addition the three day extravaganza has been replaced by a one day event with no rodeo in sight.

Whilst change is inevitable the “Wang” Gift itself remains a time honoured tradition that holds prestige among professional athletes around Australia.

With $3500 prizemoney on offer this year, the competition will be hot.

Backmarker and one of the pre-race favourites, will be Jamaican Khan Marr off a handicap mark of 3.25m.

The former training partner of Asafa Powell and a rumoured bobsledder, Marr looks to be hitting top form at the right time.

He won’t have it all his own way though, with challenges coming from the likes of Lawrence Coop off the mark of 12.5 metres, Albury runner David Flood and the winner of the Rye Gift Noddy Angelakos hot on his heels.

Whilst having been part of the Victorian sporting landscape since 1920 and closing in on its centenary, the Wangaratta Gift has history on its side but with no Essendon footballers in sight, maybe it’s up to its fans to continue the tradition and you never know, maybe this year’s winner could be a Bombers supporter.

Footy and the Cleo Bachelor – Beauty or the Beast?

This isn’t really the type of thing I like commenting on and something a bit out of Almanac character, but I felt compelled to write a few words on what could be considered at the very least, gender hypocrisy, among other things.

I have just read an article in Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph by Soraiya Fuda, commenting about GWS player Matt Buntine and his win in the Cleo Bachelor of the year.

Soraiya happens to be the entertainment editor of The Daily in the NRL heartland of Sydney.

Matt Buntine, in case you missed this momentous event, won the hearts of females all around the country, and probably a posse of males as well, by taking out the 2015 Cleo Bachelor of the Year award.

Good on him I say.  He is a “good looking rooster”, has a six pack, plays in an elite sporting competition and from all accounts is a good bloke.

Unfortunately not everybody thought as much, with his win prompting a straight to the point expose from The Daily’s entertainment editor.

“UNSHAVEN, skinny, two-toned blonde hair and deer-in-headlight stare down the camera… ladies, meet your Cleo Bachelor of the Year”, she wrote.

Don’t get me wrong, I can take or leave the GWS Giants, Matt Buntine, the award itself and Cleomagazine but I can’t help wondering what the backlash would have been had a male written these words about a female?

Ms Fuda continued unabated, cutting a swathe through the newly crowned king.

“The appearance standards seems to have dropped after Greater Western Sydney Giants, AFL player Matt Buntine, 22, was handed the prestigious title yesterday”.

Prestigious title? Standards……Um?

Adding to her ramblings, she chose to compare the Cleo Bachelor of the year to the Miss Universe pageant. “With the expectation as high as ever in the Miss Universe Australia stakes, it’s baffling how a loosely similar male-equivalent competition would choose Buntine as its representative”.

In something akin to oranges being compared to apples, I am sure a Cleo popularity contest voted on by the public, isn’t the same as a competition reviewed and adjudicated on by a panel of judges?

Just to be clear, Cleo doesn’t choose the winner, the public does.

She continued her article by highlighting negative social media opinions thus joining the throngs that carelessly cast comments into the atmosphere, oblivious to the impact.

Opinions are opinions , but what would have been the reaction if a male had written such a publicly demeaning article about a female sportsperson?

Surely we can be light-hearted and easy going about something that is supposed to be fun and in actual fact, nothing more than a marketing campaign by the magazine.

I accept that with this article I am giving her article more oxygen but when I was growing up my grandmother used to say to me if you haven’t got anything good to say about somebody then don’t say it. Good advice I think.

US Sport, Cigars and New York City

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Success in any market, pursuit or industry around the world, is celebrated by various means and activities.

In some cases the method of celebration would appear to contradict the activity.

Take American sport as an example.

Despite political correctness and a modern backlash against smoking tobacco, lighting up a cigar following a win in a pennant, Super Bowl or Championship, seems to be a ‘rusted on’ tradition.

Ingrained in American culture, the image of the athlete hugging a trophy with a ‘stogie’ in his mouth, is commonplace and a clear representation of winning in the US.

Red Auerback, the famous coach of the Boston Celtics who is widely considered the pioneer of the modern game of basketball, once said that smoking a cigar is a sign of relaxation and a cigarette is a sign of tension.

During his reign as one of the all-time great basketball coaches, and in a show of competitive arrogance, Red was known to light up a cigar during a game when he thought his team had the game won, drawing the ire of opposition coaches, players and officials alike.

Whilst synonymous with American sporting success, Cigar smoking is starting to infiltrate the Australian sporting scene. You only need to look at Rob Dixon’s 2008 AFL documentary, “Essence of the Game”, to see Hawthorn premiership heroes enjoying a cigar on the MCG, well after the crowd had dissipated into the night.

Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Shaquille O’Neal and superstar Ice Hockey player Wayne Gretsky are just a few of the sports stars known to ‘light up’ in celebration of a victory or a milestone.

On a recent trip to New York City, I found myself wandering the streets late one night and I discovered a small shop that nurtures a tradition of American culture that is fast becoming lost in the haze of automation, technology and factory machine lines.

With modernization squeezing the romance out of times gone by, hand making cigars is a skill that has been handed down over generations.

New York’s Martinez Hand Rolled Cigars, promotes what is American folklore and a dying art.

You don’t need a street address for Martinez, you simply follow the smooth, rich, earthy smell of cigars that spice the New York City air. You can smell the shop a block away.

Only a drop punt from the home of US sport, Madison Square Garden, and decorated with 1970s fixtures and fittings, it has an almost ‘hunting lodge’ appeal.

Cigar artisans from the Dominican Republic, diligently roll and pack each cigar whilst flaming up themselves.

Surrounded by historical sporting memorabilia and immersed in thick grey blue smoke, the tobacco specialists sit at open plan, well-worn work stations corralled by brown wooden cupboards and dried green tobacco leaves.

With dozens of the finished product packed up against the wall, each craftsman are experts in their field having accumulated upwards of 40 years’ experience packing and hand crafting cigars.

Open since 1974, Martinez is the only handmade cigar manufacturer in the New City York area, and one of perhaps only a dozen across the United States. Almost like David and Goliath, Martinez competes with the big money suppliers in the Cigar business and does it well.

Cigars are not only the jurisdiction of sports champions. New Yorkers mill around the shop having arrived to smoke, talk, joke and get away from the crush and pressure that is New York City.

That’s what’s unique about this shop, it’s almost like a neighbourhood pub, an oasis in which to relax and take it easy amongst the fog of tobacco smoke that sits in the air.

Customers casually walk in, purchase a cigar for anything between $3 to $14 and stand around talking to anyone within earshot.

“What about those Yankees”, could have been the catch cry to launch a thousand conversations in this place.

Working with NFL team, the New York Jets for a special game day cigar later this season, second generation shop owner Jesus Martinez, sees smoking one of his cigars as an experience to be savoured.

In talking to his staff, it’s clear that smoking a cigar is an event to be appreciated with time, never to be a ‘one drag event. It’s about the experience.

Maybe Red Auerback was right, cigar smoking is a symbol of relaxation. In the case of Martinez Cigars you don’t have to be a sports star, just a New Yorker looking for an outlet.

Lighting up after a championship win remains the defining picture of success in the US but maybe it’s not just a symbol of success for the sporting elite.

For sports stars and New Yorkers in general, a cigar at Martinez is a chance to relax, forget about the world and celebrate a job well done or simply to bring an end to a hard working week.