Nick Varley
HE IS one of the most fearsome men on earth, reared on boxing in the Bronx. She grew up in splendour, but has had a miserable time of late ‘ all that family squabbling and those tax demands.
Now Queen Elizabeth II of England is to meet Mike Tyson, ex-convict and ex-heavyweight champion of the world, in a showdown worth ‘1-million (about R7-million).
Neither needs the money, but pride is at stake, and both enjoy reputations as keen competitors.
They will clash early next year. More accurately, and prosaically, the pair’s pigeons are to compete in one of the most valuable races of its sort.
Despite its flat cap and whippets image, the rich and famous around the world have long been drawn to the sport of pigeon racing.
Both the Queen and the recently deposed champion are keen fanciers, and both have entered birds in the Million Dollar Classic to be staged in Sun City in South Africa in February.
They are among scores of fanciers who will be taking part in a race that marks a return to the monied roots of the sport.
The first racing pigeons in Britain were a present from the King of Belgium to George IV. Now it has all the trappings of modern sport, including drug tests ‘ of droppings ‘ and even extensive television coverage in South Africa.
Viewers will be able to see if the Queen’s or Tyson’s birds, or any of the other 1 600 shipped in from Saudi Arabia, the United States, China and Europe, gain the upper hand.
They will be trained to recognise their ‘home’ lofts in South Africa, and the first back will win $250 000 (about R1 150 000).
But they will have to have survived the heat, the threat from birds of prey and dehydration.
And even then they might not be safe: many racing pigeons have a sorry end, cooked and encased in pie pastry.