A Dubai-based boxing promoter has insisted that the emirate could become the “Las Vegas of the Middle East”, with the right support and backing.
And Ahmed Seddiqi, founder of D4G Promotions, told Arabian Business Dubai has all the tools in its armoury to become one of the heavy-hitters of the sport.
Seddiqi, who runs the Round 10 boxing gym in Al Quoz, said: “Dubai is a hub for many things in terms of tourism, in terms of hotels, the best restaurants, the best infrastructure, you just name it and we have it. It’s as good, if not better than Las Vegas, especially when it comes to boxing. What’s been lacking is the sports entertainment.
“I am positive that Dubai will be the Las Vegas of the Middle East in terms of boxing, but without the casinos. I believe this will happen. I’ve been in this sport more than ten years and it’s happening today. We just need to work hard, have the right team and have the government support, just to push the sport.”
While neighbouring Abu Dhabi has become the undisputed international home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Saudi Arabia has played host to a number of top boxing matches, most notably Anthony Joshua’s world heavyweight rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr in the ‘Clash of the Dunes’ bout in 2019, which was held in a purpose-built open-air arena at Diriyah.
But Seddiqi stressed Dubai could become the foremost venue for boxing. He said: “Dubai is going to be much bigger than Saudi Arabia and much bigger than Abu Dhabi in terms of boxing because we here are not doing it just to make money out of it, we are coming here to grow it from its grass roots.
“We didn’t have big names coming here for our first events, we had our local fighters just coming out of the gym; fighters from Afghanistan, Kenya, UAE. That slowly grew into bringing world titles and local gym fighters today are fighting on the undercards and getting exposure on ESPN.”
Some of the biggest names in boxing will feature when D4G Promotions hold their latest star-studded event in Dubai later month – with Badou Jack, Rocky Fielding, Ohara Davies and Muhammad Waseem all in action.
The highly-anticipated card will take place at MotoSpace on Friday, November 26, and will be broadcast live in the US on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank, and worldwide on IFL TV.
And while Seddiqi (pictured above) boldly claimed that Dubai could easily host the likes of World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury, he said the primary focus is on building the foundations for a future champion from the Middle East.
He said: “Eventually we are going to have a world champion who is based in Dubai. It’s not about getting international fighters from outside. Yes, getting international big-name fighters from outside is very important to build up the local fighters here. Then the end target is to have our world champions based here in the region, not just Dubai but the whole region.”
That doesn’t mean that he lacks any ambition. Seddiqi swapped a place in the renowned Dubai-based family business to embark on opening the boxing gym, after falling in love with the sport initially while studying in America, recalling stories of the 70s when his parents would wake up early to watch the great Muhammad Ali fight.
“I’d been working with my family business for many years and I opened the gym. I thought there was no hope for this sport here, just simply no hope, so I opened the gym and the rest just kept on happening and growing and growing,” he said.
“I’m very happy that I left (the family business) and that I’m doing the thing that I love to do. It’s not me that I go to an office from 8-to-5. For me it’s about building something from zero, like my family business, which was built from nothing. I want to do the same. Why not? My father asked me if I was sure and I said yes, I want to build my legacy like he’s built his legacy.”
His legacy is as much about the fighters as it is about building the fan-base for the sport in Dubai, where plans are in place to stage the tenth event by D4G Promotions in the Coca-Cola Arena.
Seddiqi said: “This will attract more locals to come and enjoy, it will attract more international people to come and fly into Dubai and enjoy the entertainment of boxing. We have a beautiful arena in the Coca-Cola Arena, but it just can’t be going on with concerts and other things. There is more to that beautiful arena. I would compare it to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it’s even better, even nicer.”
And he’s hoping more people will get involved, in the public and private sector, to help take the sport to the “next level”.
He added: “Sadly a lot of people don’t realise the impact that sport can have on a city. If you go back to the 70s and the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire (George Foreman and Muhammad Ali). Until today, people talk about Zaire. That’s how much exposure that fight got for Zaire at that time. There was the Thriller in Manilla (Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier) and many other fights.
“We used to fly in 50-100 people to watch the smaller fights with crowds of 500. What if we bring the bigger fights, what’s going to happen? Everybody will come to Dubai. Everybody wants to come to Dubai. Europe wants to come to Dubai, America wants to come to Dubai, Asia wants to come to Dubai.
“We have international fighters from all around the world. Wouldn’t that attract the audiences from around the world to support their people?”
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