Don King, on Mike Tyson


"Why would anyone expect him to come out smarter?
He went to prison, not to Princeton."



"To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music
and the dancers hit each other."

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

BBC News - 'Anti-cancer virus' shows promise

BBC News - 'Anti-cancer virus' shows promise:


he blood, can selectively target cancer cells throughout the body in what researchers have labelled a medical first.

The virus attacked only tumours, leaving the healthy tissue alone, in a small trial on 23 patients, according to the journal Nature.

Researchers said the findings could one day "truly transform" therapies.

Cancer specialists said using viruses showed "real promise".

Using viruses to attack cancers is not a new concept, but they have needed to be injected directly into tumours in order to evade the immune system.

Smallpox to cancer

Scientists modified the vaccinia virus, which is more famous for being used to develop a smallpox vaccine.

The virus, named JX-594, is dependent upon a chemical pathway, common in some cancers, in order to replicate.

It was injected at different doses into the blood of 23 patients with cancers which had spread to multiple organs in the body.

Start Quote

I believe that some day, viruses and other biological therapies could truly transform our approach for treating cancer”

Prof John BellUniversity of Ottawa

In the eight patients receiving the highest dose, seven had the virus replicating in their tumours, but not in healthy tissue.

Prof John Bell, lead researcher and from the University of Ottawa, said: "We are very excited because this is the first time in medical history that a viral therapy has been shown to consistently and selectively replicate in cancer tissue after intravenous infusion in humans.

"Intravenous delivery is crucial for cancer treatment because it allows us to target tumours throughout the body as opposed to just those that we can directly inject."

Infection prevented further tumour growth in six patients for a time. However, the virus did not cure cancer. Patients were given only one dose of the virus as the trial was designed to test the safety of the virus.

It is thought that the virus could be used to deliver treatments directly to cancerous cells in high concentrations.

Prof Bell acknowledges that the research is still in the very early stages, but he said: "I believe that some day, viruses and other biological therapies could truly transform our approach for treating cancer."

Cancer Research UK's Prof Nick Lemoine, also director of Barts Cancer Institute, said: "Viruses that multiply in just tumour cells - avoiding healthy cells - are showing real promise as a new biological approach to target hard-to-treat cancers.

Slip, Slide, Duck for longevity in the game of Boxing and Life

Boxing is a metaphor for the existential stuggles a man suffers during his earthly existence.

Training Day

George Bellows painting of Dempsey vs Firpo

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Medical Associations are generally not in favor of boxing, whatever the age.

http://www.kgoam810.com/rssItem.asp?feedid=116&itemid=29716809


Teen Boxing Is Too Dangerous, Doctors Say



(CHICAGO) -- Youth boxing may be too risky, doctors say. The amount of risks presented by the sport is simply too great, according to a policy statement released by pediatrician groups in the U.S. and Canada.

"Children and adolescents should not be participating in boxing because of the risk of head and facial injuries," statement co-author Laura Purcell, MD says, according to WebMD.

Previous research has proven that brain injury is the biggest risk posed by boxing, with more than half of boxing injuries being concussions, WebMD reports.

Purcell tells WebMD, "There is no evidence that headgear prevents concussions."

Because children's brains are more susceptible to physical harm such as concussions, pediatricians are urging health care professionals to "vigorously oppose boxing for any child or adolescent," citing longer recovery in children.

And doctors are not only worried about risk of brain and facial injury. The process of "making weight," or any practice employed to qualify for competition in a certain weight class could lead to unhealthy habits of eating or fluid restriction, according to child care physicians.

The two groups, the Canadian Pediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, joined efforts in authoring the policy statement published in the journal Pediatrics, updating a 1997 statement by U.S. doctors. The Canadian Pediatric Society is addressing youth boxing for the first time, according to WebMD.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio



Sunday, August 28, 2011

Good Fight

  

Povetkin is a worthy champion who was the 2004 Olympic heavyweight champion.   He is a well-skilled  boxer and has Teddy Atlas as his trainer.  This pairing could lead to a long and illustrious career and many interesting fights.  Eliminate the K's and you have a wide open division again with plenty of great fights ahead.  Think Chris Areola as a leading contender and an exciting fighter in this new division.



Povetkin,  remains undefeated after 22 fights (15 KOs), and becomes the mandatory challenger for Klitschko.



(Photo: Canadian Press)

Alexander Povetkin of Russia defeated Ruslan Chagaev by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBA heavyweight title on Saturday. The title was Wladimir Klitschko's following the Ukrainian's victory against England's David Haye by unanimous decision in Hamburg last month, but was declared vacant when the WBA elevated Klitschko to "super champion" status.


http://www.boxnews.com.ua/en/photo/31714/Alexander-Povetkin-vs-Ruslan-Chagaev


Chagaev landed some telling blows in the fight.


P.S. Evander Holyfield is putting himself front and center looking to be Povetkin's first Title Defense.






Friday, July 15, 2011

Bet On It...



The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet.


Damon Runyon

Sunday, July 3, 2011




David Haye was a big let down ...another fighter said after all the bragging pre-fight that Haye will need to change his name and disappear. He lost but instead of shame for his performance, he stupid made excuses. they both made lots of money but there won't be a re-match... Vitali is a more exciting fighter. The brothers now completely control the Heavyweight Division holding all the titles.


While many thought Haye's best chance of victory was to come out and take risks (me included), the opening rounds were cagey affairs, with Haye standing off and looking for an opening and the Ukrainian trying to pin him down with his jab, his signature shot.

When Haye did come forward he was falling short, while Klitschko, 35, finally unsheathed his right midway through round two, which Haye stood up to well.

In round three there was already the feeling the fight had slipped into a groove, with Klitschko unleashing sharp left-right combinations and leaning all over Haye when the Londoner tried to slip the jab and get close.aye, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, falls to 25 wins and two defeats, while Klitschko, who has not lost since 2004, improves to 56 wins and three defeats.

As Klitschko himself said in an Observer interview last weekend: "You work your ass off to get to the top. It takes a lot of time. The way up is very long. The way down is one step. All the years of work, and the respect collapses in one second. It's like that in life, not just in boxing." This is the brutal accounting of a sport where the vanquished stands on a desk showing his sore toe, hoping for sympathy, and the victor is introduced to the room in booming tones as the "weltmeister". Severed hopes, not heads.