Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[DaveShoelace]

I was quite impressed until he started ad libbing.

I rather liked the fact that he sort of personalised it.

As ex-boxers go, he seems remarkably "together", & I like him very much.

Oh don't get me wrong, I like him too, he comes from the gladiator era of boxing. His fights with Nigel Benn were among the best bouts ever televised.

IMO he was arguably the best boxer ever from this country. It is just that after what happened with Michael Watson he was understandably never as ruthless, but even then at about 70% of what he was capable of he still beat almost everyone. The few fights he lost were always because he could never quite pull the trigger afterwards.

My dad loved Eubank, I was slightly more a Naseem Hamed guy - a golden era of ring entrances between those two.

[tikay]

I was quite impressed until he started ad libbing.

I rather liked the fact that he sort of personalised it.

As ex-boxers go, he seems remarkably "together", & I like him very much.

Oh don't get me wrong, I like him too, he comes from the gladiator era of boxing. His fights with Nigel Benn were among the best bouts ever televised.

IMO he was arguably the best boxer ever from this country. It is just that after what happened with Michael Watson he was understandably never as ruthless, but even then at about 70% of what he was capable of he still beat almost everyone. The few fights he lost were always because he could never quite pull the trigger afterwards.

My dad loved Eubank, I was slightly more a Naseem Hamed guy - a golden era of ring entrances between those two.

Eubank, Benn & Watson was definitely "my" golden era of UK boxing.

Many years earlier, I actually knew (vaguely) Henry Cooper, he & his brother George, who went on to become very wealthy indeed via Business.

They were identical twins, but George fought under the name "Jim" for some reason. Anyway, they had a greengrocers shop in Wembley, & the pair of them regularly served there, so I got to see him & be served by him regularly, which, at the time, (I'd be around 14 or 15 at the time) I thought was the bee's knees.

One of my earliest memories is listening to the radio commentary of him fighting Muhammed Ali. I was in the Isle of Wight, I was maybe 14, on my first ever holiday without my parents, which was really a big deal to me. I had gone with my best mate & his parents, (he was 4 or 5 years older than me) & I was unbelievably excited as well as rather naive in the ways of adulthood & life.

Anyway, I ended up sharing a bed with my mate (no option, only 2 beds in the place, but perfectly normal, it seemed to me), but that all turned out rather badly, as previously unbenown to me he was a rampant homosexual, & it appeared he had the hots for me. A very uncomfortable fight for Henry, & a truly horrific night for me, too.....anyway, I digress.

Heny's carrer ended sadly, when he fought the dire Joe Bugner & the judges ruled Bugner the winner. Henry snap retired.

The next era which interested me was Mike Tyson, & I recall getting Sky TV especially just so I could watch the great man. That milk turned sour later, too.

Then it was those amazingly watchable duels between Eubank, Benn & Watson. Benn was not exactly an angel in real life, but my oh my, he was fearless in the ring, & those three lads really took & gave poundings to each other. The Watson tragedy really ended all that I suppose.

Don't think I've ever watched a boxing match since. Never seen or heard of my then best mate since, either. Yikes, I wish I could stop rambling & reminiscing.

So many memories, I so wish I could write better, it'd be wonderful to write a little book.

[DaveShoelace]

I was quite impressed until he started ad libbing.

I rather liked the fact that he sort of personalised it.

As ex-boxers go, he seems remarkably "together", & I like him very much.

Oh don't get me wrong, I like him too, he comes from the gladiator era of boxing. His fights with Nigel Benn were among the best bouts ever televised.

IMO he was arguably the best boxer ever from this country. It is just that after what happened with Michael Watson he was understandably never as ruthless, but even then at about 70% of what he was capable of he still beat almost everyone. The few fights he lost were always because he could never quite pull the trigger afterwards.

My dad loved Eubank, I was slightly more a Naseem Hamed guy - a golden era of ring entrances between those two.

Eubank, Benn & Watson was definitely "my" golden era of UK boxing.

Many years earlier, I actually knew (vaguely) Henry Cooper, he & his brother George, who went on to become very wealthy indeed via Business.

They were identical twins, but George fought under the name "Jim" for some reason. Anyway, they had a greengrocers shop in Wembley, & the pair of them regularly served there, so I got to see him & be served by him regularly, which, at the time, (I'd be around 14 or 15 at the time) I thought was the bee's knees.

One of my earliest memories is listening to the radio commentary of him fighting Muhammed Ali. I was in the Isle of Wight, I was maybe 14, on my first ever holiday without my parents, which was really a big deal to me. I had gone with my best mate & his parents, (he was 4 or 5 years older than me) & I was unbelievably excited as well as rather naive in the ways of adulthood & life.

Anyway, I ended up sharing a bed with my mate (no option, only 2 beds in the place, but perfectly normal, it seemed to me), but that all turned out rather badly, as previously unbenown to me he was a rampant homosexual, & it appeared he had the hots for me. A very uncomfortable fight for Henry, & a truly horrific night for me, too.....anyway, I digress.

Heny's carrer ended sadly, when he fought the dire Joe Bugner & the judges ruled Bugner the winner. Henry snap retired.

The next era which interested me was Mike Tyson, & I recall getting Sky TV especially just so I could watch the great man. That milk turned sour later, too.

Then it was those amazingly watchable duels between Eubank, Benn & Watson. Benn was not exactly an angel in real life, but my oh my, he was fearless in the ring, & those three lads really took & gave poundings to each other. The Watson tragedy really ended all that I suppose.

Don't think I've ever watched a boxing match since. Never seen or heard of my then best mate since, either. Yikes, I wish I could stop rambling & reminiscing.

So many memories, I so wish I could write better, it'd be wonderful to write a little book.

So much to comment on there.

I also remember how Tyson essentially led the migration to sky for boxing fans. Wasn't the first Sky fight he had the loss to Buster Douglas?

Nigel Benn was amazing to watch, he really was. Sadly the greatest fight I have ever seen was also the most tragic, his win against Gerald Mclellan.

There have been some great fights since those days. You should google Barrera vs Morales. And Ward vs Gatti.

[tikay]

I was quite impressed until he started ad libbing.

I rather liked the fact that he sort of personalised it.

As ex-boxers go, he seems remarkably "together", & I like him very much.

Oh don't get me wrong, I like him too, he comes from the gladiator era of boxing. His fights with Nigel Benn were among the best bouts ever televised.

IMO he was arguably the best boxer ever from this country. It is just that after what happened with Michael Watson he was understandably never as ruthless, but even then at about 70% of what he was capable of he still beat almost everyone. The few fights he lost were always because he could never quite pull the trigger afterwards.

My dad loved Eubank, I was slightly more a Naseem Hamed guy - a golden era of ring entrances between those two.

Eubank, Benn & Watson was definitely "my" golden era of UK boxing.

Many years earlier, I actually knew (vaguely) Henry Cooper, he & his brother George, who went on to become very wealthy indeed via Business.

They were identical twins, but George fought under the name "Jim" for some reason. Anyway, they had a greengrocers shop in Wembley, & the pair of them regularly served there, so I got to see him & be served by him regularly, which, at the time, (I'd be around 14 or 15 at the time) I thought was the bee's knees.

One of my earliest memories is listening to the radio commentary of him fighting Muhammed Ali. I was in the Isle of Wight, I was maybe 14, on my first ever holiday without my parents, which was really a big deal to me. I had gone with my best mate & his parents, (he was 4 or 5 years older than me) & I was unbelievably excited as well as rather naive in the ways of adulthood & life.

Anyway, I ended up sharing a bed with my mate (no option, only 2 beds in the place, but perfectly normal, it seemed to me), but that all turned out rather badly, as previously unbenown to me he was a rampant homosexual, & it appeared he had the hots for me. A very uncomfortable fight for Henry, & a truly horrific night for me, too.....anyway, I digress.

Heny's carrer ended sadly, when he fought the dire Joe Bugner & the judges ruled Bugner the winner. Henry snap retired.

The next era which interested me was Mike Tyson, & I recall getting Sky TV especially just so I could watch the great man. That milk turned sour later, too.

Then it was those amazingly watchable duels between Eubank, Benn & Watson. Benn was not exactly an angel in real life, but my oh my, he was fearless in the ring, & those three lads really took & gave poundings to each other. The Watson tragedy really ended all that I suppose.

Don't think I've ever watched a boxing match since. Never seen or heard of my then best mate since, either. Yikes, I wish I could stop rambling & reminiscing.

So many memories, I so wish I could write better, it'd be wonderful to write a little book.

So much to comment on there.

I also remember how Tyson essentially led the migration to sky for boxing fans. Wasn't the first Sky fight he had the loss to Buster Douglas?

Nigel Benn was amazing to watch, he really was. Sadly the greatest fight I have ever seen was also the most tragic, his win against Gerald Mclellan.

There have been some great fights since those days. You should google Barrera vs Morales. And Ward vs Gatti.

Absolutely - Sky Sports had only just started, & in those days we were not used to the notion of paying a subscription, the BBC Licence Fee apart.

Tyson was a HUGE draw, & we went & subscribed to Sky Sports in droves, & so began a remarkably successful business story. There is no doubt Sky TV's success (like it or not it is stunningly successful), was driven by Sky Sports, & that Tyson fight was a watershed moment in it's history.

I don't recall that it was against Buster Dougles, but you may be correct.

Worth remembering, for context, that this was before the internet was widely vailable, so the world was a very different place back then. VERY different.

Who could ever have imagined back then how a TV Company could so vastly change the face of English Football, & so many other sports, too?

It was only 20 or 25 years earlier that Johnny Haynes had become the first ever footballer to earn £100 per week. That's £5k per year, I doubt a single Pro footballer earns less than that now.

"Image Rights" are a huge part of modern-day deals, too.

I doubt the world has ever changed so much, so quickly, as the last 25 years, the internet genuinely was a game-changer in so many ways.

[booder]

Loved Benn and Eubank , and the Hagler Hearns fights , but my favourite was always "the gifted one "  Kirkland Laing .

http://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2014/09/nottinghams-kirkland-laing-shocks-roberto-duran-in-the-1982-boxing-upset-of-the-year-full-video.html

Such a talented fighter. When he was good , he was very very good.

[tikay]

Loved Benn and Eubank , and the Hagler Hearns fights , but my favourite was always "the gifted one "  Kirkland Laing .

http://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2014/09/nottinghams-kirkland-laing-shocks-roberto-duran-in-the-1982-boxing-upset-of-the-year-full-video.html

Such a talented fighter. When he was good , he was very very good.

I sort of missed the whole "Marvellous Marv" era somehow, I invested so much of my life & time at that stage to my work.

I often wish I could turn the clock back, I've done so many dumb things in my time. I wish I was young again, & had no self-doubt. I knew everything when I was young. No, I did.

[tikay]

Thank you for being a bro, I love you bros, stay awesome, I love you all, mmwaor.

WTF?

I read a piece yesterday that said children are only watching half as much TV as their parents. Good for them. Probably.

It then went on to explain about Video Clips, which, it seems, is what the kids are watching.

Have you heard of "PewDiePie"?

What, you have not? You should have.

He makes "video clips for You Tube.

Each clip gets, on average, 4.5 MILLION views.

He has 30 MILLION followers.

He earns £2.5 MILLION per year from the adverts on his clips.

So I watched a few, & nearly threw up, it's incredibly cheesy.

But it's stuff like that which is helping to lead to the demise of forums.

Love you all bros, you are all so awesome.

[Karabiner]

Loved Benn and Eubank , and the Hagler Hearns fights , but my favourite was always "the gifted one "  Kirkland Laing .

http://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2014/09/nottinghams-kirkland-laing-shocks-roberto-duran-in-the-1982-boxing-upset-of-the-year-full-video.html

Such a talented fighter. When he was good , he was very very good.

I sort of missed the whole "Marvellous Marv" era somehow, I invested so much of my life & time at that stage to my work.

I often wish I could turn the clock back, I've done so many dumb things in my time. I wish I was young again, & had no self-doubt. I knew everything when I was young. No, I did.

Is that why you missed out on all of that 1960's music that all of the rest of us were so taken with, such as rock&roll, blues, and soul?

[DaveShoelace]

Thank you for being a bro, I love you bros, stay awesome, I love you all, mmwaor.

WTF?

I read a piece yesterday that said children are only watching half as much TV as their parents. Good for them. Probably.

It then went on to explain about Video Clips, which, it seems, is what the kids are watching.

Have you heard of "PewDiePie"?

What, you have not? You should have.

He makes "video clips for You Tube.

Each clip gets, on average, 4.5 MILLION views.

He has 30 MILLION followers.

He earns £2.5 MILLION per year from the adverts on his clips.

So I watched a few, & nearly threw up, it's incredibly cheesy.

But it's stuff like that which is helping to lead to the demise of forums.

Love you all bros, you are all so awesome.

I know every generation does not understand the next generations choices for media consumption, but how the hell is that a thing?

There are also people who make a living playing video games and streaming it on YouTube.

Weirdest one has to be this craze of people who make a career of them making videos of themselves opening boxes with iPhones in. Just google 'unboxing'

[tikay]

I am reading "The Hatching of Twitter" at the moment.

It's about how Twitter came into being.

The kid who started it had got his start-up money from google, who purchased his Website, which was (is?) called "Blogger".

Blogger hosted millions of Blogs, which were a new thing back then. Imagine a word without blogs, it's not so difficult, but he recognized that folks like to write stuff, & share it with others.

And he became a zillionaire.

So so simple. Or lucky?

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Thank you for being a bro, I love you bros, stay awesome, I love you all, mmwaor.

WTF?

I read a piece yesterday that said children are only watching half as much TV as their parents. Good for them. Probably.

It then went on to explain about Video Clips, which, it seems, is what the kids are watching.

Have you heard of "PewDiePie"?

What, you have not? You should have.

He makes "video clips for You Tube.

Each clip gets, on average, 4.5 MILLION views.

He has 30 MILLION followers.

He earns £2.5 MILLION per year from the adverts on his clips.

So I watched a few, & nearly threw up, it's incredibly cheesy.

But it's stuff like that which is helping to lead to the demise of forums.

Love you all bros, you are all so awesome.

I know every generation does not understand the next generations choices for media consumption, but how the hell is that a thing?

There are also people who make a living playing video games and streaming it on YouTube.

Weirdest one has to be this craze of people who make a career of them making videos of themselves opening boxes with iPhones in. Just google 'unboxing'

Agree with you bro, love you bro, you are so awesome bro.

30 million bros cant be wrong bro, can they bro?

To be fair, good luck to him. he's found a niche & set himself up for life.

Wonder if I could do one about great railway stations or airports? How many awesome bros would THAT attract?

[DaveShoelace]

I am reading "The Hatching of Twitter" at the moment.

It's about how Twitter came into being.

The kid who started it had got his start-up money from google, who purchased his Website, which was (is?) called "Blogger".

Blogger hosted millions of Blogs, which were a new thing back then. Imagine a word without blogs, it's not so difficult, but he recognized that folks like to write stuff, & share it with others.

And he became a zillionaire.

So so simple. Or lucky?

Click to see full-size image.

Just read this book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smartcuts-Hackers-Innovators-Accelerate-Success/dp/0062302450

And there is a great story of this girl:

http://michellephan.com/

Who managed to turn videos of her doing make up tutorials into a multi million empire. I have no idea if this PewPooPeeWee fella is any good, but this girl really was and deserved her success. She was really really poor too, which made the story much nicer. 

[tikay]

Loved Benn and Eubank , and the Hagler Hearns fights , but my favourite was always "the gifted one "  Kirkland Laing .

http://www.britishboxers.co.uk/2014/09/nottinghams-kirkland-laing-shocks-roberto-duran-in-the-1982-boxing-upset-of-the-year-full-video.html

Such a talented fighter. When he was good , he was very very good.

I sort of missed the whole "Marvellous Marv" era somehow, I invested so much of my life & time at that stage to my work.

I often wish I could turn the clock back, I've done so many dumb things in my time. I wish I was young again, & had no self-doubt. I knew everything when I was young. No, I did.

Is that why you missed out on all of that 1960's music that all of the rest of us were so taken with, such as rock&roll, blues, and soul?

60's music?

No, music was a huge part of my life in the early to mid sixties, not so much late sixties.

I was a Beatles man, through & through, blues & the like was not my thing, just personal taste I suppose.

My musical tastes are very shallow, but that's just how it is. I try to spend 30 minutes on You Tube every night, just watching & listening to the music I like. Beatles, Knopfler, Robbie, Cure, Eminem, Lightning Seeds, Floyd (adore Gilmour), Gwen, Chilis, Aerosmith (I want to be Steven Tyler), The Eagles, especially Don Walsh, that sort of stuff, just mainsteam really. Poor palate in music & food, me, but I enjoy what I enjoy.

[Jon MW]

Thank you for being a bro, I love you bros, stay awesome, I love you all, mmwaor.

WTF?

I read a piece yesterday that said children are only watching half as much TV as their parents. Good for them. Probably.

It then went on to explain about Video Clips, which, it seems, is what the kids are watching.

Have you heard of "PewDiePie"?

What, you have not? You should have.

He makes "video clips for You Tube.

Each clip gets, on average, 4.5 MILLION views.

He has 30 MILLION followers.

He earns £2.5 MILLION per year from the adverts on his clips.

So I watched a few, & nearly threw up, it's incredibly cheesy.

But it's stuff like that which is helping to lead to the demise of forums.

Love you all bros, you are all so awesome.

I know every generation does not understand the next generations choices for media consumption, but how the hell is that a thing?

There are also people who make a living playing video games and streaming it on YouTube.

Weirdest one has to be this craze of people who make a career of them making videos of themselves opening boxes with iPhones in. Just google 'unboxing'

Until recently my girlfriend made lyric videos for youtube - just the song with the lyrics coming up as they were sang, a bit like karaoke but with the vocals still attached.

Wasn't quite the level he managed but she had 155 million views on her videos before she 'retired'

[DaveShoelace]

Thank you for being a bro, I love you bros, stay awesome, I love you all, mmwaor.

WTF?

I read a piece yesterday that said children are only watching half as much TV as their parents. Good for them. Probably.

It then went on to explain about Video Clips, which, it seems, is what the kids are watching.

Have you heard of "PewDiePie"?

What, you have not? You should have.

He makes "video clips for You Tube.

Each clip gets, on average, 4.5 MILLION views.

He has 30 MILLION followers.

He earns £2.5 MILLION per year from the adverts on his clips.

So I watched a few, & nearly threw up, it's incredibly cheesy.

But it's stuff like that which is helping to lead to the demise of forums.

Love you all bros, you are all so awesome.

I know every generation does not understand the next generations choices for media consumption, but how the hell is that a thing?

There are also people who make a living playing video games and streaming it on YouTube.

Weirdest one has to be this craze of people who make a career of them making videos of themselves opening boxes with iPhones in. Just google 'unboxing'

Until recently my girlfriend made lyric videos for youtube - just the song with the lyrics coming up as they were sang, a bit like karaoke but with the vocals still attached.

Wasn't quite the level he managed but she had 155 million views on her videos before she 'retired'

Crikey. Did she manage to monetize them?

I wonder what the deal is with copyright there. I guess that's YouTubes problem not hers.