Did you watch the big fight? Have you heard how horses are helping blind people? And who’s hunting medals at the South Korea Winter Olympics? Welcome to the AngloFiles, a weekly rundown of the weird, wonderful and inspirational, bringing you the best bits and bobs that British news, culture, science and entertainment has to offer.
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#3: Ready to Rumble
In what became one of the most-watched sports events of the year, Brit YouTubers KSI and Joe Weller came good after months of trash talking, to finally settle their score with a main event boxing bout at London’s Copper Box Arena. The fight took place on Saturday evening (3rd February), with KSI forcing a third-round stoppage to bag the bragging rights. With clips racking up more than 20 million views online, the tussle earned a much larger audience than that weekend’s Premier League action, and was even billed as the biggest UK bout since Anthony Joshua defeated Vladimir Klitschko in May, 2017. KSI has called out Logan Paul next, so watch this space.
#2: Horse Power
In a ground-breaking case for blind people in Britain, one sight loss sufferer is to become the first person in the UK to be given a guide horse – rather than a guide dog. The man from Blackburn has a degenerative sight loss condition, but he also has a phobia of dogs – so a guide animal had never seemed likely. Then came Digby, a young American miniature horse. The animal has just started training to accompany his owner on errands around town, and the move could soon become standard, given that horses generally have a longer lifespan than dogs. It’s equine inspiration at its finest!
Before we get to our final entry, let’s remember what else happened on this week in history:
It’s thirty-nine years since the first ever £1 million transfer in British football, on February 9th 1979. Trevor Francis moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest, to play under legendary manager, Brian Clough. By comparison, transfer fees are huge business today. As of the 2017/18 Premier League Season, Manchester United’s Paul Pogba is the most expensive player in the UK – costing £90 million!
#1: Speed Skating Star
Though Britain isn’t best known for its prowess at winter sports, Team GB enters this year’s Winter Olympics with high hopes, especially in Short Track Speed Skating. The sport has been called a ‘national obsession’ for host nation South Korea, but one of the hottest tips for medals hails from Scotland; Elise Christie. The athlete suffered a nightmare Games four years ago in Sochi, where she crashed out of all of her events, returning home without even a sniff of victory. And, seeing as one race saw her wipe out a South Korean competitor too, she faced international scorn. But Elise is back, and ready to prove her doubters wrong. Blink and you’ll miss her, but she is one Olympian you definitely want to watch out for!
Have you got a good story for us? Head over to WatchMojo UK, let us know in the comments and watch this space for more British-based brilliance.
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