‘I didn’t give it away, Joe earned it’

Undefeated in 11 years and 22 fights, and heading into his 19th defence of the heavyweight championship of the world since 2006, it is no wonder that Wladimir Klitschko exudes an air of confidence, but, once in a while, ever-so-slight cracks appear in his cool, calm and collected demeanour.

It remains a mystery why RTÉ hasn’t cashed in on the Irish people’s love of nostalgia.

Cathy Desmond took a bite of the Big Apple some thirty years ago — and now that she’s back for more, she finds a calmer, quieter place.

He's a bit embarassed but his colleagues think it's the gassest thing ever.

When Minnesota weatherman Steve Frazier started fidgeting mid-way through a live broadcast, his colleagues on news channel Fox 9 assumed he had a kink in his neck.

50 Cent's bodyguard is being investigated for alleged assault.

It is the best way to get a feel for the tennis these days; watching, and typing, with a broken finger.

When the great boxing trainer Eddie Futch stopped Joe Frazier from going out to face Muhammad Ali late on in Manila all those years ago, he had good reason.

At first the words seemed to trip nonchalantly from the mouth of Walter ‘Clyde’ Frazier, a basketball analyst for whom loquaciousness is a job description.

In his own words Ronan O’Gara was “shocked” when Declan Kidney omitted him from the Irish squad.

The boxing impresario Don King would have been suitably impressed with the hype generated at a Cork County Council meeting when standing orders were suspended to discuss the art of pugilism.

This is new for football, what it has with Messi and Ronaldo.

Women’s boxing at London 2012 was all about Katie Taylor and yesterday the woman who played such a big role in getting it added to the Olympic programme was rewarded by having a gold medal hung round her neck.

I’m torn, really torn, about this game.

IT was one of those heart-stopping sporting moments.

A Florida man charged with hacking a homeless Connecticut man to death with an axe and eating his brain was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

It’s hard to know what’s the most daunting challenge in world sport right now but whatever it is, it exists at the upper echelons of men’s tennis.

A suspected drink driver opened fire on two gardaí with a rifle before pulling out a licensed shotgun and killing himself.

CRISTIANO RONALDO is one of the most famous men in the world and yet he remains oddly unknown.

Muhammad Ali was among the mourners on Monday at the funeral of long-time rival Joe Frazier in Philadelphia.

I SAW Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden but not, alas, in the Fight of the Century. It was just last January and Joe was courtside for Knicks-Spurs in the NBA.

I HEARD the great American sports writer Jerry Izenberg blow the dust of some great tales this week on Newstalk’s Off the Ball programme.

THE fight game continues to crumble in the City of Brotherly Love.

WORRIED eyes turned towards Philadelphia these past few days, knowing the news was bad, hoping without logic that Joe Frazier could beat the odds one more time. Outside the boxing community, however, concern was muted.

Boxing was today mourning the passing of one its finest heavyweights after Joe Frazier lost his battle with liver cancer.

Muhammad Ali today paid tribute to his great rival Joe Frazier, saying: “The world has lost a great champion.”

Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier is receiving hospice care for liver cancer.

Adrian Frazier does a fine job in bringing to life John Ford and others involved in the remarkable links between the Abbey and Hollywood, says Val Nolan

THERE’S this fat ten year old boy whose mother is forced to come to live in the tough black ghetto of Brownsville in Brooklyn in the Seventies.

Remember so long ago when we stayed up until dawn to watch Clay and Liston and Frazier fighting their battles behind the snowfalls on black and white TV sets?

THERE’S a tale, probably apocryphal, that has long done the rounds of the boxing fraternity which is intended to highlight the depth of rivalry between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

THEY continue their belated and impressive push for Europe and although they boast a midfield with as many little attacking midfielders as Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has demonstrated that Everton’s little chaps can certainly look after themselves too.

IT’S all over, apparently. It’s fair to say the media has been a little patronising of late, like United were the dad and Liverpool the toddler: “ah, you wanna race me little fella? Okay. Look at you going full pelt, ooooh, you might just beat me” etc.

HARRY REDKNAPP almost walked into the trap when asked whether Manchester United, having ended Tottenham’s hopes of winning the FA Cup, could perform a clean sweep of the trophies still available to them this season.

HEAVENLY BLUES, who performed solidly on the flat at Galway, came right back to his best over flights when storming to victory in the featured Kevin McManus Bookmaker Hurdle at Cork yesterday.

Alex Ferguson has confirmed young striker Fraizer Campbell will remain at Manchester United this season.

SOME WEEKS you just don’t have enough space for everything.

WORLD champion Fernando Alonso believes his McLaren team are giving preference to his rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

A man told a court that he learned about weapons and explosives and prepared for holy war at an al Qaida training camp allegedly attended by terror suspect Jose Padilla.

A member of an unrelated terrorist group testified today he learned about weapons and explosives and prepared for jihad at an al-Qaida training camp which prosecutors say alleged terrorist Jose Padilla also attended.