Promoter Eddie Hearn says his new partnership with Abu Dhabi will encompass multiple boxing events in the capital each year, with the sport’s most prominent stars such as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Anthony Joshua potentially competing in the capital.
A long-term collaboration was this week announced between Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, which kicks off in November with the world title bout between WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and mandatory challenger Gilbert “Zurdo” Ramirez. Both fighters are undefeated, with Bivol 20-0 and Ramirez 44-0.
The November 5 event at Etihad Arena, the first of a new “Champions Series”, will feature several championship fights, including an IBF junior lightweight bout between champion Joe Cordina and Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov.
Meanwhile, WBC and IBF women’s junior welterweight title-holder Chantelle Cameron will defend against undisputed welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill.
Speaking to The National, Matchroom Sport chairman Hearn detailed far-reaching plans for boxing in Abu Dhabi, while also explaining why the emirate represented the ideal place to continue the sport’s expansion.
“We want to build relationships with partners that have a long-term plan,” Hearn said. “There’s the perception, particularly among fighters, that coming into the Middle East means your purses treble. That’s got to stop, because it will stop the regularity of bringing big-time championship fights to the region.
“And, in Abu Dhabi, with what they’ve done with UFC, NBA, Formula One, there isn’t so much that perception that there might be in other countries. There’s the NBA, the UFC; it’s a regular pit stop.
“We want to actually have a chance to build long-term relationships from grass roots up to the elite level of the sport. One of the first things DCT said to me was that they’re most interested in building long-term partnerships. That was music to our ears. Because doing one-off shows is good, but you can’t actually build anything.
“We want to build from grass roots-up participation to the elite training-site performance centres. But that takes time, takes two-three years to start seeing results.
“So here, yes, we’ve got November 5, but then we go away and start looking at early next year building four-five events here a year. That’s the plan.”
Asked how feasible that annual commitment would be, Hearn said: “Very. It could be anywhere from three to five [fights], it’s fight dependent. But there has to be some kind of regularity, like London, like New York, like [Las] Vegas.
“You don’t do one a year. You’re going to have five or six major fight nights a year [including UFC] if you want to build this as a fight destination. That’s quite special to have world championship boxing mixed in with UFC and NBA.
“It’s pretty special what they’re building here. They’ve come in with really good fight, and a really good card.
“Sometimes you get a bit of a joke fight that makes a lot of noise. But they’ve come in with really good fight for boxing, and I feel like this fight, this card, shows their ambition of what they’re trying to do.”
Hearn said both Matchroom and Abu Dhabi were intent on delivering a top-class card in November to begin the partnership on a strong footing.
“It’s got to always be the way,” he said. “You look at this card already; we’ve only announced three fights: Bivol-Ramirez, Cordina-Rakhimov for the world title, McCaskill-Cameron for the undisputed world title. And there will be two or three others as well.
“The first one is so important because you want everybody in that arena to go, ‘Wow, what a night’. And you will with these fights. They can’t miss. They can’t fail.
“You’ve got 20 and 0, just beat Canelo, against 44 and 0. The other two fights are sensational fights as well. Everybody who buys a ticket or that tunes in on DAZN, you want them going, ‘Wow when’s the next one? When’s the next Champions Series?’
“And then you announce February or March we’re back, and here’s the card. And ‘wow’ again. We want to leave here with people asking when are we coming back?”
