Great article by Kevin Mitchell (no not that one) The Guardian's boxing writer on the intertwined relationship that God and Sport (in this case Boxing) has in America. For British fight fans this is an essentially bamboozling state of affairs, in which very little sense is made in explaining the relevance, in what is surely the most secular of pursuits. Violence in the form of prize fighting, in pursuit of indecent amounts of monetary wealth.

Mitchell

"God, like everyone else who can get a ticket, is coming to Las Vegas. On 2 May, surrounded by the usual cast of sinners, he will hear his name invoked again in a boxing ring, American sport’s altar to excess. If he wins, Floyd Mayweather Jr will interrupt the TV interviewer (sadly it won’t be Larry Merchant) to, “thank God and my team”. If Manny Pacquiao wins, he will raise his hands to the heavens and give thanks. These are the rituals of the fight game, especially in Vegas, where Godliness is next to the cash machine, and Floyd and Manny will do the tradition proud."

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Hallelujah! Why God is great for Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao| Kevin Mitchell | Sport | The Guardian