The Fight DXB Uncovered will open doors: Seddiqi
dubai — For someone whose family is into the watch business, the timing was just about right for Ahmed Al Seddiqi.
Back in 2015, sitting at his Round 10 Boxing Club, nestled in Al Quoz, Seddiqi, whose passion is boxing, had told this reporter about putting Dubai on the boxing map and making it an outpost for top professional bouts.
And as he said, ‘baby steps’ is what will take them there. And the first of those will be ‘The Fight DXB Uncovered’ at the Emirates Golf Club which will see the WBO European featherweight title and the vacant WBC International super-flyweight title on the line.
Seddiqi has organised smaller bouts before but this is the big step with the main card being broadcast on ESPN.
And Seddiqi said such bouts will not just open many doors for top bouts in the country but also create a pathway for local boxers.
“We are really very excited about this event. It is the beginning for us and with the collaboration with MTK Global, ESPN and Top Rank, it is a start of something great for this region,” Seddiqi told the Khaleej Times on Wednesday.
“It came a little quicker than I expected, but we cannot complain. It would not just build Dubai but the whole Middle East region with professional boxing. Of course, the talent exists in the region but there is door open now to showcase their talent. It will open doors to a lot of fighters and of course to professional boxing,” he added.
Seddiqi said that working with the right people and the timing were key in putting it together.
“I got to meet MTK Global and the contract they have with Top Rank and ESPN is huge. We just had the same mindset, the same view, of how to grow boxing in the region. The vision was the same, to build it slowly and not something big at one time. This is what happened in the past. A lot of people came here throwing big numbers. Of course, it will never be accepted because you need to have a market in place. So, this is what we are doing, growing this market very slowly. This is a medium size event, good card, good fighters, we have two titles on the line. So, this is already history for the UAE,” felt Seddiqi.
Seddiqi promised more top fights in the future. “As a I mentioned, it needs to be done slowly, gradually and correctly. We are just taking baby steps now and then eventually those steps are going to grow larger within a year,” he said.
“Next year, we would love to have a big event as a gift from the boxing world to our country when we have the Expo 2020 because it is a big deal for our country. This is the target and we hope for the support of different government entities to make this happen,” added Seddiqi.