AMATEUR BOXING

Like so many sports, watching boxing in the flesh is a completely different experience from seeing it on telly. The cameramen might take you closer into the clinches, you might miss out on the action replays and the embarrassing interviews with Gary Newbon, but there is the compensation of registering the sheer presence of these men. It wasn't until I saw Frank Bruno fight at the Albert Hall that I appreciated the physical magnificence he brought to the ring. There's a chance to sample the rigours and perhaps guilty thrills of the fight game on Monday, when England's amateurs take on Scotland at the Royal Lancaster Hotel across the road from Hyde Park.

The thought of getting up and spending nine minutes being mercilessly hunted down by an opponent whose nirvana is your unconsciousness is bad enough when you're being paid for it. To do it for nothing is a cause either noble or mad - I'm not sure which. While amateur boxing is as tough and uncompromising as the professional game, you won't see the same extremes of brutality. With protective headgear mandatory, each man has only three rounds to leave a lasting impression. But they still manage.

Royal Lancaster Hotel, Monday 9pm. Amateur Boxing Association: 081-778 0251