Sport and Life

Asked for gameplans for Jospeh Parker as he aims to topple the ever formidable Anthony Joshua. Some crackers!

Had a lot of insightful tweets after Dillian Whyte’s win over Lucas Browne - run through them here with most in consensus that Whyte’s skill set and mindset is improving. Please listen and give your thoughts. Ed

Dillian Whyte aiming to continue his less prominent, but dogged subplot to the Anthony Joshua brightly lit story Saturday night v big punching Lucas Browne. Going thru a few of your tweets and discussing Dillian's determination to stay in the mix for a big moment.

Boxing is buzzing right now. Can’t turn on the radio, tv or social media without hearing the Sport talked about. Is it second to football now in terms of popularity? Or is it a peak attached to one man - Anthony Joshua. If not, what is number 2? Few thoughts recorded on the topic...

Why has Football captured the world’s imagination? (Bar a few countries) same Same origins as rugby but spread has been so much more all encompassing.

Few tales from Cheltenham and thoughts on the booze culture around Sport. Love to know your take!

Lionel Messi mastered the key moments to help Barcelona beat Chelsea in the Champions League. Thoughts on how is ability to be zoned into the moment is part of greatness and why an intellectual/statistical comparison between Messi + Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t reflect the magic factor. Also point out how underpriced and undervalued goalkeepers are - DeGea may well have denied Messi!

Man United exit the CL with a whimper - but even if they’d won through would the W justify the lack of verve and passion. Should we be offensive unless forced to be defensive - like v Man City or Roberto Duran in boxing? Do wins in life count irrespective of how they’re gained? Look at boxing and how Ws can be down to vagaries of judges opinions, so surely the process and performance is where the...

Man City have great individual players but surely collective performance is greater than the sum of their parts. Look at Muhammad Ali, boxing, horse racing too in thoughts on SYNERGY

What boxers bouncing back from losses and failures can teach us in life. Few thoughts here re James Degale and Scott Quigg

Not a Liverpool football club fan. But Klopp brings joy and apparent gratitude to his job as Liverpool manager. Despite operating in a world beset by talk of ‘Football’. Pretty inspirational.

Saddened by stories of pitch invasions at West Ham United. Keen to get an understand of this specific situation and also the pros and cons of being fans in our lives. How much emotional investment should we make? And do we not think players, coaches and owners share the goal of winning? How important is patience for long term success? Thoughts here on the audio blog. #westham #pitchinvasion #fanan...

Deontay Wilder put me in mind of the Fosbury Flop with his performance Saturday night. He shifts the Boxing paradigm with his unorthodoxy leaving it hard for analysts to assess his potency or make any kind of prediction on Joshua-Wilder. Love it!

Cristiano Ronaldo’s journey from tricky, pacy, sometimes fanciful winger to a prolific forward who scores with both feet and is as good in the air as a traditional ‘target man ‘ striker is an inspiration. Take a look at some of the developments in his career that’s still going strong at 33 - and why I feel we can all learn from it.

Was asked recently to give thoughts on whether skill level is enough to ‘achieve’ in Boxing? Thoughts here...

A cosmopolitan Frenchman and the storied romance with an old English lady - destined to end in divorce? An imperfect metaphor perhaps, but let me know your thoughts!

Some of my favourite images from Sport are two boxers embracing, unified in mutual respect and understanding of each other. Or footballers shaking hands after a gruelling encounter and praising their opponents. This unifying vision can maybe aid western society right now where online acrimony would have you believe we’re different. My thought, debate Brexit etc but avoid the sense that we’re all s...

A few years ago when I hosted the no 1 boxing podcast in the world, analysts would tell me Luis Ortiz was the best heavyweight in the world. Now few give up a chance in the world title fight v Deontay Wilder Saturday night. Why? His motivation has gone as he has money? Father Time? Familiarity exploded the myth? Thoughts here - please listen and message me on Twitter @eddraper81 or instagram ed_dr...

Is it about entertaining or winning? Or both? Look at the history and consider what Sport means to fans.

About winning or entertaining? Both? Heated debate this week after #ManchesterUnited’s scoreless and attritional draw in Seville. My thoughts on footballs history as escapist entertainment, but also people’s emotional investment in the result.

Thoughts on how and why boxers and comedians have always inspired me. Primarily because of their raw ability to face down fear to enter the arena. Inspirational to all of us in life.

In the FA Cup, players from the third tier of English football collaborate to beat multimillionaire super stars from the premier league. How? Powerful lessons in synchronicity, teamwork and belief. The fluidity of English football where Premier League teams can tumble down the divisions also contains powerful life lessons.

George Groves beat Chris Eubank JR in the big boxing match Saturday night in Manchester, England with a skilful,well-planned is a performance. Here are some thoughts on life lessons that lie within it - in my opinion.

Do we double down on strengths or work on improving our weaknesses? Considering this theme in connection with huge boxing match In Manchester on Saturday night - Groves V Eubank JR. a fast starter v a fast finisher. Do they tweak plan to accommodate weaknesses or focus on their strengths. What’s best in Sport & life?

New Zealand heavyweight boxer, Joseph Parker imparted some great wisdom this week as he prepares to fight Anthony Joshua in a world title unification fight. What he said and my take on it here...