Two pertinent questions which occupy our thoughts in these deeply troubled days.

Never has international sport been so damaged as it is now, ravaged by COVID-19, allegedly emanating from China, and now being torn to pieces as rapacious Russia brutally rampages through neighbouring Ukraine in the name of god knows what.

It is as easy to despair as this war game goes on, tearing sport and a wonderfully brave nation asunder.

We can only marvel at the courage and resistance being shown every day by Ukrainians.

How ironic that the odious Putin should decide to pick a fight with a nation of fabulous fighters.

Those who have dominated the prize rings of the world.

Vitali Klitschko, who with his equally bright brother Wladimir (both hold PHD’s) dominated the heavyweight division throughout a decade of decency and dignity, is of course the inspirational mayor of Ukraine's beleaguered, battered capital city Kyiv.

If such fistic fire power was not enough, the valiant defenders of Ukraine have now enlisted the man who is currently regarded as the best pound for pound boxer of modern times and a current heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, last seen skilfully outmanoeuvring and out boxing Britain’s Olympic champion Anthony Joshua and relieving him of his world titles.

Another man, who not so long ago was himself regarded as the world's finest fighter, double Olympic champion and former world lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko.

This quartet of protagonists have all taken up arms to fight the Russians and while fist fights do not win on the battlefield such celebrated combatants donning military uniforms and employing arms rather than fists cannot fail to inspire.

But as I say, who can predict the future?

But one thing is certain.

It would be for, in any conflict, as sport being such an influential factor.

You had only to see the televised pictures of football fans in the UK last weekend engulfed in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine’s national flag to realise whose side sport is on.

One club, Brighton, even abandoned their normal strip for one in Ukraine’s colours for their home match with Liverpool.

I’ve never known sport to be as involved or integrated as it is at the moment.

Events in Ukraine also throws the spotlight on the sleazier side of sport.

Writing in the weekend's Mail on Sunday, columnist Oliver Holt pointed out that last Sunday’s upcoming Premier League match between Chelsea and Newcastle was a shameful example of this.

"Football is supposed to be about escapism, especially in these times," he said. 

"But this match will not provide any of that currency.

"Chelsea vs Newcastle is the Premier League game of shame prospect that turns your stomach."

 He argues, quite rightly that the Premier League allows the pro-Kremlin oligarch Roman Abramovich, the now disenfranchised Chelsea owner, and a power of Putin, to hide in the plain sight of English football since 2003 and did nothing to restrict his role in sport and the national sport even when Putin sent his tanks rolling to Ukraine three weeks ago.

The Premier League also waved through the Saudi Arabian state takeover of Newcastle last October, knowing that it was a regime arguably as repressive and repulsive as Russia’s.

Saudi Arabia has been involved in a long and destructive war with Yemen that is said to have caused 233,000 deaths.

More than 10,000 children are estimated to have been killed or wounded as a direct result of this attrition.

This war has not received the attention here as that in Ukraine, no doubt because it is backed by British weapons and the fact that Prime Minister Boris Johnson planned a visit this week to Riyadh to plead for more Saudi oil to replace that acquired from heavily sanctioned Russia.

Yes, we did take notice when the Saudis murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in their consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, butchering his body with a bone knife.

The Premier League, as Holt points out, did not see a red flag then.

And neither did they raise an eyebrow when, while Sunday’s match was taking place, the Saudis were busy executing 81 men across the sheikhdom by beheading them in public.

Blood money all round, indeed!

But back to Putin’s punch-up with Ukraine.

Another curiosity of this contest is that one of the new leaders of an international sports body is the Russian businessman, Umar Kremlev.

Alphabetically Kremlev is only two letters apart from Kremlin.

However, to be fair, there is no evidence that Kremlev, now President of the International Boxing Association (Formerly AIBA) is close to Putin or is an oligarch who should be removed from office under present sports sanctions.

In fact, he has made an impressive start to clearing up the mess left by the previous regime.

I have posed questions which at the moment seem unanswerable.

If only this was a movie and not reality the outcome would be simple: President Putin, a 67-year-old black belt, who fancies himself as one of the world's leading judo exponents, would elect to fight one of Ukraine’s ringmasters, say 50-year-old mayor Vitali, who he was last seen embracing in Moscow, after the giant Ukrainian's farewell fight five years ago.

Somehow, I suspect that Putin would be left with rather more than a bloody nose!