Time-Warner [the owners of HBO] on the other hand think nothing of coughing up half a million on legal expenses

Time-Warner [the owners of HBO] on the other hand think nothing of coughing up half a million on legal expenses. It’s another matter for the rest of us when legal costs kick off at around $500 an hour.”What has been staggering is the demand this situation has created. I spent 10 years in the music business before coming into boxing [he promoted Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones] and I know something about hot properties My phone has been going constantly. I also promote Shane Mosley, who many would see as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, and there was uproar around here when he beat Oscar De La Hoya.

But again, nothing like the reverberations of that punch in Johannesburg.”A week ago the word was strong that Rahman would go for the big-money fight against Tyson ­ and perhaps avoid the risk of a properly conditioned and re-motivated Lewis reclaiming his title with the kind of form which preceded the shocking knock-out in South Africa. But there were some dissenting voices, including the former HBO chief Seth Abraham, now the top negotiator for Madison Square Garden. He said: “Don’t count out HBO; they have deep pockets and they don’t want to lose control of the heavyweight title.” Now this part of the fight will be settled around High Noon in Manhattan.. The problem with comparing Ronnie O’Sullivan to Mozart, as Peter Ebdon did on Wednesday, is the scale of achievement. By 25 Wolfgang Amadeus had composed all his violin concertos, four operas and a mass of masses, symphonies and sonatas, a portfolio that even the most philistine of us would equate to at least one World Championship. Which is one more than the less musically-talented tyro has managed. The problem with comparing Ronnie O’Sullivan to Mozart, as Peter Ebdon did on Wednesday, is the scale of achievement.

By 25, Wolfgang Amadeus had composed all his violin concertos, four operas and a mass of masses, symphonies and sonatas, a portfolio even the most philistine would equate to at least one Embassy World Championship. Which is one more than the less musically talented tiro has managed.
Snooker’s most valued prize has eluded O’Sullivan, which leaves a gap nearly as significant as “The Marriage Of Figaro” from the cv of someone who is commonly regarded as the most naturally gifted player ever to wield a cue. He craves to win here on Monday ­ no matter what he might say to suggest otherwise ­ and yesterday he edged closer to achieving that goal.O’Sullivan, who dropped into a familiar “I might retire” mode in the build-up to this event, established a 6-2 lead over Joe Swail after the first session of their best-of-33-frame semi-final, which is an advantage no one would despise even if it is not conclusive. He requires a further 11 frames today and tomorrow.”The Rocket” has been known to burn up on re-entry to his self-doubts on more than one occasion but this time several snooker sages have been suggesting it might be his year.

“He hardly gave me a shot,” Steve Davis, the six-times world champion, said, recalling being walloped by O’Sullivan last month. “It is looking as if it will take someone special to beat him here.” Ebdon thought he was that special someone in the quarter-finals and was beaten 13-6. “I expected to win, I really did, but when Ronnie is in that form…” he said, tailing off in admiration before explaining the pressures such potting fluency can bring “He was awesome. When I went for a maximum on the first day, I took on a difficult double into the middle and I knew if I missed he was going to clear up. You have to try.”O’Sullivan’s form had slipped a little below the sublime yesterday but by not so much it looked like a permanently lost friend.