Who could have been surprised by two big news events this week?
The first, Sonny Bill Williams' "title" fight against Francois Botha in Brisbane, just proves that professional boxing is the new pro-wrestling, an over-hyped, poorly acted, contrived drama with pre-ordained outcomes.
The subsequent controversies over the number of rounds and the drug samples, the alleged offer to Botha to throw the fight and the argument over the very legitimacy of the belt being contested blur now into a happy sleaze. The public sees this kind of boxing for what it is and is happy to keep paying for the fantasy.
A rematch will be had, the viewing numbers will increase, the fake notoriety will escalate. A reality TV show on the patently unreal fight game, with a walk-on for Jaime Ridge, will follow.