By Mark Butcher: For many years, US boxing promoters and sporting entrepreneurs speculated on the gold mine on the other side of the world. The lucrative gambling market in Macao (currently pulling in seven times the revenue of the entire state of Nevada) whispered Eastern promise and China’s extraordinary 1.3 billion population could offer a potential viewing audience like no other. But the Chinese needed one of their own to spark the revolution - this untapped market lacked a superstar.
Interview by Mark Butcher: After the initial, crushing disappointment, Dereck Chisora’s trainer Don Charles is in a philosophical mood following his fighter’s recent withdrawal from the eagerly-anticipated rematch with Tyson Fury and already mapping the Londoner’s road back.
By Mark Butcher in Macao: Unbeaten super-middleweight Gilberto Ramirez has the irresistible looks of a Latin movie star and power just as disarming. The handsome Mexican has drawn gasps and even applause from Chinese women inside the Venetian Casino ahead of his bout against Junior Talipeau on Saturday. Ramirez also has a habit of leaving his opponents similarly weak-kneed.
