Clash On The Dunes can inspire KSA to produce a world champion
The epic bout between Ruiz and Joshua has electrified boxing scene in the Kingdom, says trainer
Saudi Arabia can produce its own boxing world champion.
That’s the belief of Nettles Nasser, a professional boxing trainer working with fighters in Jeddah, who says the Clash on the Dunes title fight between world champion Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua at the Diriyah Arena on December 7 is inspiring the Kingdom’s growing number of homegrown athletes to reach for their dreams.
The Palestinian-American trainer, who hails from New Jersey in the US and is currently helping up-and-coming boxers from the Kingdom and across the Middle East with his team at the JKO boxing academy, told Arab News that high-profile events such as the upcoming bout at the UNESCO World Heritage Site are inspiring the athletes he works with.
Nettles said: “This is historic. Who would have ever thought that this fight would happen here in Saudi Arabia? It is inspiring for the youth and it’s inspiring for me. We are talking about the heavyweight championship of the world … in the Kingdom.
“Right now, Madison Square Garden in New York is considered the home of boxing, but now Saudi Arabia could be a challenger,” he continued. “It really is amazing. I’ve been here three years and I never thought we’d see anything on this scale.”
Nettles, 33, had his own pro fighting career cut short by injury in 1992. He says the past year has been transformative for boxing in the Kingdom. The change began in September 2018 when Callum Smith defeated George Groves in the World Boxing Super Series super-middleweight final, the first major boxing match to be staged by the General Sports Authority (GSA) of Saudi Arabia.
“The atmosphere in the boxing gyms now, compared to when I first came here, is like night and day,” said Nettles. “Boxing was in the dark — you could barely hear a noise when people were working the bags. Now people are in the gyms and they are sparring with belief, with authority, with passion. You can tell they believe they can get somewhere and achieve something.
“When they (held the) Muhammad Ali Trophy last year we had legends like ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed and Evander Holyfield here. The crowd were going crazy running around and taking pictures with them. And now we have the world championship fight with Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua here in the Kingdom. This is all unprecedented and puts boxing in a great place. It brings the sport into the light.”
One of the fighters Nettles has worked with in the Kingdom is Abdulfatah Julaidan, the 40-yearold Saudi from Jeddah, who got his second pro fight on the undercard of the World Boxing Super Series. In front of the home crowd he was victorious and on the night he described it as a “dream come true.”
“If you look at people like Abdulfatah, this is a guy who has wanted to be a boxer his whole life. He’s been training for years when the sport didn’t have the same enthusiasm and now he’s coming through at his age with that fire and that intensity and winning pro fights,” said Nettles. “If more fighters in the Kingdom can match his passion then it is just a question of time until Saudi Arabia has a world champion.
“I think everyone involved in boxing is so grateful to his majesty the king, to his royal highness the crown prince and to the GSA for opening the doors for the sport. It is such an exciting time for the grassroots level. The JKO team already has winning fighters from Saudi, Morocco and the Middle East region. Our mission is focusing on building a true boxing team and to give them the tools to survive in this sport. Now it feels likes the right atmosphere to bring Saudi’s boxing game to highest level.”
On Dec. 7, Joshua will be looking to regain his WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO belts after his loss to Ruiz in New York earlier this year.
Nettles believes the, because the fight is being held in Saudi Arabia, both Joshua and Ruiz will join the select group of fighters who are inspirations for boxers in the Middle East, including as Hamed, Amir Khan, Mike Tyson — who became a Muslim — and, of course, the legendary Muhammad Ali, who also famously converted to Islam.
The Clash on the Dunes is expected to draw around 15,000 fans to the custom-built Diriyah Arena, with thousands coming from the UK and hundreds more from the US as part of a global contingent from 65 countries traveling to the Kingdom for the title fight.
Nettles said: “This really is putting Saudi Arabia and boxing on the map. It’s electrifying for the sport. As well as the night itself, the Clash On The Dunes will have a real legacy in the Kingdom, I am sure.”