Boxing: Naseem Hamed is ready for the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas - and to mark his first night in the world of boxing's high-achievers and gambling's high-rollers, he is planning a ring entrance unusual even by his standards.
Some kind of illusion is being promised, but the man standing in the other corner when the elaborate preliminaries are over will be very real.
Marco Antonio Barrera is the Mexican threatening Hamed's dream of featherweight greatness.
Barrera represents the ultimate test of Hamed's career to date, although a match with super-featherweight star Floyd Mayweather would arguably equal it in terms of defining quality.
It is a fight which has been waiting four years to happen, but has been given enough time to mature perfectly in terms of financial opportunity.
The fight, to be beamed to 121 countries, and Hamed admitted: "I think Barrera brings a lot to the table, but I'll be prepared for it. He's a great fighter."
Apart from the comprehensive television coverage, the Mexican contingent who will flood into Las Vegas by the weekend should result in a 19,000 live gate.
Barrera is moving up a weight from super-bantam, and boxing history is rich with tales of the outstanding smaller men progressing a division and finding it just too much of an elevation.
The fight has the vacant IBO belt attached to it as a tangible trophy for the victor to parade, but it is the calibre of match for which title-backing really is superfluous.
OLYMPICS: Canadian lawyer Dick Pound yesterday announced he is to stand in the election to be the next Olympic president, the most powerful position in world sport.
Pound, marketing supremo of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since the 1980s, is credited with helping transform the movement from an amateur operation to a multi-billion dollar business.
He is the fourth person to announce he is to be a candidate, and is expected to be followed by South Korea's Kim Un Yong today.
They are vying to replace Juan Antonio Samaranch, who is retiring aged 81 after 21 years in the post.
Presidential hopefuls have until April 10th to announce whether they are running, with the vote being taken in Moscow on July 16th.
SAILING: The Admiral's Cup management committee yesterday decided to cancel Admiral's Cup 2001 because not enough teams have entered the competition.
Only France and Britain were confirmed participants at yesterday's cut-off date, with at least five teams needed for the race to go ahead.
It is the first time that the biennial international offshore regatta for three-yacht teams, scheduled for July 16th-28th at Cowes, has been cancelled since its inception in 1957.
