Thanks BigJ, I appreciate the kind words.

I’m with you, this is such a hard fight to call. Golovkin’s stability in campaigning at middleweight for such a long period as you mentioned could well be a key factor.

Very much looking forward to this one!

Thanks Grafter, I appreciate the support.

Both guys sure do have amazing stories and it’s great to see them get their big night in the spotlight which I think is well deserved. I have huge respect for both of them and the way they’ve gone about their careers. They’ve gotten to this point from nothing but hard work, and not from their mouths which I admire.

As far as a prediction, I too can’t go against Golovkin, although I think it’s far from a foregone conclusion. I wish you the best of luck if you are ‘investing’ in it. I’m not sure whether I’m confident enough to stake anything on this one.

Enjoy the event, I too can’t wait!

Fantastic achievement. Hope he can score another win, but great result regardless. Thanks John for letting this news see the light of day.

Excellent to hear regarding your daughters BigJ. We can certainly agree that Rousey is one of a kind and we will likely not see another female MMA star like her for quite some time.

Good point there BigJ, and that’s another sport where women compete directly against men, instead of in their own division, which makes it a huge acheivement. Perhaps Michelle Payne will have inspired a generation of young women to take up horse racing.

Haha, she really does, you’re spot on. I must say, motorsport is a tough sport to crack as well, with all competitors, regardless of gender competing directly against each other unlike a lot of other sports. Patrick’s certainly done herself proud in IndyCar as well as NASCAR and no doubt inspired a lot of young girls to get into motor racing, as with Rousey and MMA.

BigJ, I enjoy reading your views. While Ronda Rousey’s beauty may have played a very small part in the emergence of women’s MMA, I disagree that it had as much bearing as you say it did. Heading into the fight with Holly Holm at UFC 193, Rousey boasted a record of 12-0 with all 12 wins coming inside the distance and all bar one of those being stopped in the first round.

People watched Rousey because she was an exciting fighter, and an extremely skillful and talented athlete. I continue to watch the likes of Holm and Amanda Nunes, among others, because of their abilities, not because of how they look. There is fights and fighters in both women’s and men’s MMA that are bigger drawcards than others, and I think Rousey was just one of those fighters for women’s MMA who was exciting, as Conor McGregor is for men’s MMA.

I don’t have daughters, but my line of thinking is that I would be extremely proud if they wanted to make a career out of MMA or any professional sport. I would feel better knowing that, firstly, they could defend themselves and secondly, they weren’t being held back by society’s views on what women can and can’t do or should and shouldn’t do to be ‘ladylike’. To me, Ronda Rousey is a lady, and she’s also badarse.

Nice article Edward. It is quite ironic that, as you said, the most traditionally male-oriented sport of them all is leading the way for women in sports. It is even better to see, as you also said, that it is successful because of the genuine desire of fans to see these women’s bouts. Great job mate.

Great article Jawad. I think Warburton and Supercars should definitely be commended for giving this a shot. I don’t think there’s much to lose, plus there could be a lot to gain. There is definitely race fans out there that would be interested in such events. I have seen it in motorsport before, in speedway categories such as the Speedway Grand Prix on two wheels or the World of Outlaws Sprintcar Series stateside or World Series Sprintcars locally. Majority of their events are one-day shows, with the bulk of the action being condensed into just a few hours in the evening. Supercars could definitely run some practice sessions during the afternoon, ensuring they wouldn’t have to condense the entire weekend into three hours, with just qualifying and racing taking place in the evening’s prime-time slot. Looking forward to seeing what comes of this.

Nice article Bayden. It is somewhat sad to see the gap between the top teams and the midfield being so great. The days of seeing an unexpected car on the podium do seem distant, obviously aside from the chaos that was the Baku GP. I’m just thankful that there is at least a couple of different coloured cars fighting for victories this season, rather than just the silver ones.

Yeah absolutely Grafter, ‘Mericless’ Ray Mercer is a good example that I’d completely forgotten about. That one didn’t last long, hey! I hadn’t forgotten the James Toney versus Randy Couture fight, I just didn’t want to bring it up, haha.

Nice point too, I agree and think that it does show weakness in the MMA for their star to have to come across to boxing for a big payday. Like you said though, sadly, he didn’t come across to challenge a current champion or top fighter in their prime, such as Crawford or Spence as you mentioned, which I guess shows a weakness in boxing also.

Yeah, I must say I was happy to read that the Canelo versus GGG bout sold out early, and before this fight which supposedly still has quite a few tickets available. Astronomical prices may have something to do with it too though rather than general interest in the event.

Haha. Thanks J.C. I appreciate it.

Thanks mate, I appreciate it. I love seeing different views, so I think The Roar will be a great thing to be a part of. I’m definitely from the boxing side of the ledger as well as being heavily into motorsport. I do enjoy watching MMA, there’s still a lot for me to learn about it though.

I agree that it’s so difficult to come in to another sport and face someone who’s been mastering that particular sport for a long period of time. Likewise, if this fight was taking place under MMA rules, McGregor would obviously dominate Mayweather. As you say, boxing is highly specialised though, and there’s only so much McGregor will be able to pick up in this training camp.

You’re right in saying the scenario of a boxing versus MMA card would definitely make MMA look bad, just the same as it would make boxing look bad if it were done under MMA rules in the cage.

Yeah the news of 8oz gloves is certainly interesting. I too think that McGregor’s best chance is definitely an early onslaught, but agree Mayweather is too wise and experienced to fall for that. Great fight certainly looms three weeks later! I’m picking GGG, I think his power will overcome Canelo.

Thanks for your comment Jerry. Your best bet is a draw, so that at least neither would win! I respect your stance and if you’re not watching, I don’t think you’ll miss anything spectacular. Canelo versus GGG is much more deserving of our hard earned in my opinion.

Thank you for your kind words Grafter. Good observation there, I agree it was definitely a strategy from Mayweather Promotions and the UFC to schedule their bout before the Canelo versus GGG fight. The Irishman’s left hand is definitely his best weapon in offence, but like you said, doesn’t seem to be doing it’s job on the defensive side of things, inviting the right hand, although we’ve only been able to view a small amount of footage. Indeed you’re spot on that the jab is the bread and butter of boxing. For what it’s worth, I too share the prediction that this will be Mayweather’s first win inside the distance for a long period of time. Best of luck at the TAB. Roll on Canelo versus GGG indeed!

Thanks for your comment Sam. I totally get your point. Unfortunately, like you said, that’s not the world we live in. I also agree that this fight isn’t doing much for the sport of boxing. On a positive note, there is a few quality fighters featuring on the undercard. I’m glad they didn’t go with the boxing versus mixed martial arts theme for the whole card.

Haha, nicely put BigJ!

Thanks for the comment Council. I’m on team Money for this one as well, purely because I want boxing to shine. It wouldn’t be great for the sport if someone came in and defeated one of the greatest on their debut!

Thanks for the welcome BigJ! I appreciate the comment. As I said, I’ll be watching, so they’ve done enough to sell me on it too! I do agree that the potential of taking away Money’s undefeated status is something to be fighting for, and wouldn’t for a second doubt the fact that McGregor will give absolutely everything and then some to this fight. Interesting observation too mate with your point of the casual fan only caring about the result rather than the method.

I must sound like a broken record by now, but nice article Michael, I again agree with all your points and am enjoying reading your pieces each week.

The almost stagnant talent pool is certainly a concern in F1 at the moment. It would be great to see more young guns coming through, as well as capable drivers, like Di Resta, given more of a chance. Independent midfield teams that, as you said, wouldn’t be afraid to gamble a little more, would be huge in terms of making that a reality.

Aside from actually increasing the car count, which would obviously be the best case scenario, if the new regulations attracted more engine suppliers, such as Cosworth for example, I believe this could definitely improve the situation too.

As you touched on, lower-tier teams seem to be persuaded into hosting their engine suppliers’ young drivers as part of engine supply deals these days, besides Toro Rosso who obviously foster Red Bull drivers anyway, so if a team such as Sauber or Force India was to be supplied by Cosworth, surely that would open doors and get the pool flowing a little better.

Quality article Michael, I agree with your points completely. As a race driver myself, I can only echo the sentiments of the drivers you spoke to. Risk is exciting. The risk of going for a passing move that may or may not end in tears, or the risk of hitting a barrier or going off the circuit while pushing the car to the limit that is. Danger to your personal safety or that of others is not, especially when there is a viable solution that lowers the likelihood of any serious injury or worse. Like many others, I don’t particularly like the look of the halo device, but safety improvements can never be ignored. The manufacturers that are associating their brands with the sport to showcase their cutting edge technology can surely only benefit from safety progression as well. Danger doesn’t sell road cars. Good to see a positive piece on this.

Nice article Michael. I agree with all your points. Personally, I’d like to see Sainz in a more competitive car. Also, I always enjoy watching the GP2/F2 champions progress through to F1. I think something’s gotta give at Red Bull. If it remains the same, what happens with Gasly? In my opinion they would be stifling not only Sainz’s career, but Gasly’s too, and therefore their whole junior programme.

If they manage to hold onto Sainz, they need to promote Gasly and do away with Kvyat. If Sainz gets his chance elsewhere, Gasly needs to be promoted alongside Kvyat, who would at least provide a good comparison for the would-be rookie. Status quo would represent a step backwards for me, at least from Toro Rosso down.

I must say I completely agree with you Jawad. Personally, I struggle to get right into some of the sprint races, but I find myself hooked on the enduros. It would be a great way to showcase the best of Supercars and what they’re all about. Nice article.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this Michael. I couldn’t agree more.

MotoGP definitely has the right idea with Moto2 and Moto3 all featuring as they do. Rather than playing with the Formula 1 format of adding extra races to the weekend like I’ve heard talked about to build more excitement, I think they would do better to incorporate F2 and F3 as you suggest, and feature them like MotoGP does.

Win-win for everybody as far as I’m concerned.