Day pays the penalty despite nest efforts
ARUM LOOKS BACK AT BOUT OF CENTURY… 50 YEARS ON
JASON DAY took a penalty drop for an unplayable lie after his ball landed in a bird’s nest at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The former world No1 borrowed binoculars to try to identify his ball on the par-five 16th hole at Bay Hill.
And a photographer used his zoom lens to confirm it belonged to the Australian.
Day then took a drop directly under the nest, before making a double-bogey on his way to a level-par 72. Canadian Corey Conners took the clubhouse lead on nine under par after his second-round 69. England’s Paul Casey was four shots back after his 69. “To be honest it wasn’t anything super special, but it was clean and tidy, which was nice,” said the Ryder Cup star. Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick both shot 71.
IT WOULD have been the easiest $15,000 Bob Arum ever made.
Fifteen thousand for his six $150 tickets to see Muhammad Ali face Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century.
But there was no way Arum was going to part with the hottest tickets in sporting history. Monday marks the half-century since the legendary bout at Madison Square Garden and promoter Arum says the world wanted to be there.
“Because I was Ali’s lawyer I was able to buy six centre ringside seats, the best seats in the place,” recalled the Top Rank CEO.
“They cost me $150 each and I remember being offered $15,000 for the six tickets. Lawyers in New York weren’t making $15,000 a year so that was an enormous amount of money. That’s the equivalent now of $50,00060,000. I turned it down – that shows the frenzy that surrounded the fight.”
Anyone who was anyone was among the 20,455 crowd, including Gene Kelly, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Ted Kennedy, Sammy Davis Junior and Woody Allen. Burt Lancaster was a guest commentator, and Frank Sinatra persuaded Life magazine to allow him to be their ringside photographer because he was so desperate to be there.
A record 300 million people watched in 50 countries and fights broke out in some venues when the coverage went down. Arum says the fight was so colossal because it reflected the division in America over the Vietnam War. Ali had been stripped of the world heavyweight title in 1967 and barred from fighting for three years for refusing to serve inVietnam.
“To really understand why it took on the momentum it had, why it was accorded by everybody as the sporting event of our time, it all goes back to politics and the country was politically polarised,” said Arum, who celebrates Top Rank’s 55th anniversary this year.
“Ali was the representative of the anti-Vietnam War movement and those speaking out for black equality. Frazier’s people, and not Joe, tended to be pro-VietnamWar.”
Ali portrayed Frazier as a compliant ‘Uncle Tom’ figure, kowtowing to the white establishment, even though the champion had supported him during his ban and given him money.
“Ali was just selling the fight, but Joe took it very personal,” said Arum.
Ali’s three years out of the ring had taken their toll and Frazier gradually took control of this toe-to-toe contest.
In the 15th round Frazier detonated a left hook on Ali’s chin and down he went. Ali survived to the final bell but suffered his first professional defeat, Frazier taking a unanimous decision.
The Greatest had the last word, beating Frazier in their two subsequent fights, culminating in the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ in 1975.
NEIL WARNOCK’S contract extension at Middlesbrough is proof that youth is wasted on the young.
By the time he has seen out the extra 12 months on Teesside, English football’s unrivalled promotion specialist will be
73. A record ninth promotion, and leading a fifth club into the top flight after Notts County, Sheffield United, QPR and Cardiff would be an incredible feat.
Warnock, whose side face Swansea today, said: “I wouldn’t say it’s a disease or a bug,
SWANSEA V MIDDS’BRO 3PM but it’s obsessive by nature – and when you get to my age, you want success yesterday.
“I don’t want to die on the job, but you want to be the best and I would like to finish on a high.
“When I started out as a young manager, I just wanted to show the old hands my team could give them a run for their money – now it’s the other way round.” ❑ ROTHERHAM’S trips to Brentford today and Luton on Tuesday are off after several of their squad tested positive for Covid-19.