THE Craig Boyce-Nicki Pedersen on-track bust-up this week has got me thinking why isn't speedway considered a major world sport any more?' That's because for pure sporting drama, you couldn't have wished for more if you were present at Arlington Stadium when the two riders battled it out on the shale.

I've covered football, cricket, rugby, tennis, boxing and snooker, all at the top level, and I believe speedway stands up there alongside the greatest of them for sporting entertainment and thrills.

Take last Saturday's incident at Eastbourne in a run-of-the-mill friendly match at the beginning of a new season.

Completely out of the blue, Boyce's bike gains some unwanted grip, shoots out of control and he, Pedersen and their machines plough into the Eastbourne safety fence.

Cue pandemonium in front of an astonished, but completely hooked, crowd.

Pedersen quickly gets up off his feet and exchanges angry words with Boyce, who is still lying on the ground, with both riders, fortunately, uninjured.

All of a sudden, the helmeted Dane's head is almost in the Pirates' face.

Then Boyce - not renowned for being a shrinking violet - gets up and wham! Pedersen copes a punch aimed at his face.

In any other sport, that would be considered outrageous behaviour.

But to speedway fans, and riders, it is an almost acceptable side of a tough sport that is renowned for its hardness and where life or death situations can unfold in the blink of an eye in any meeting at any time.

Fair enough, Boyce was fined the maximum sum of £300 for the offence by referee Chris Gay. And he has since apologised for throwing the punch.

Pedersen, always controversial, wants Boyce to be punished further by the Speedway Control Bureau.

But the Australian, who thought he was being head-butted, probably won't be, although it will be interesting to see what course of action the authorities take.

I hope they don't take any further action as well.

Why? Mainly because Boyce and Pedersen met again at Poole in midweek in another run-of-the-mill pre-season opener and after the Dane had comprehensively, but hard and fairly, won their duel, the two international stars shook hands.

Like Boyce stressed in the Echo the day after, that should be the end of the matter. History - it's all over.

They are both grown men. They know it's a tough sport, where riders get knocked off regularly and the worst incidents still do end up in fatalities, although, thankfully, not on as many occasions as in the past.

So what's a punch-up now and again, after a crash in which no-body was hurt, after, presumably, no one meant for it to happen?

In this case it can be seen as completely understandable in such a gladiatorial sport.

Back to my main point though, why isn't speedway considered a major world sport any more?

Well, I can only assume incidents like this put speedway outsiders off.

But it's not like these racers are rich, pampered, spoilt Premiership stars who barely exchange handbags at two paces after slightly mistimed tackles and make millions in the process.

Speedway racers risk their lives every time they get on a bike. In fact, there is an unmentioned code that 99.9 per cent of riders adhere to that promotes clean riding.

After all, it's their livelihoods - they have families to look after and mortgages to pay, just like you and me.

Also, the sport is generally well disciplined and officiated, and live television, via Sky Sports' coverage, has been back on board for over a decade.

So there is no better spectacle, in my opinion, than two world class riders locked shoulder to shoulder for four laps at 60 mph as they go all out for glory to grip a crowd's attention.

That's why I think the motorcycle sport should be elevated back to where it was in the late 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and early 80s when it genuinely was a major back-page sport.