BIG-time boxing returns to Dubai as ALA Promotions stages another boxing show in their return to the Middle East.
?We?re excited for another spectacular event in Dubai. I have never seen a crowd like that in the first show in Dubai,? ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer said in yesterday?s formal announcement of Duel in Dubai 2 at the Rajah Park Hotel. ?It will be bigger now, from 2,200 (seating capacity) to 4,600, it will be double the capacity. We?re very excited to be back.?
The Pagara brothers–Albert and Jason–headline the boxing extravaganza on Aug. 7 at the Dubai World Trade Center in Dubai, UAE.
ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN?s first Dubai show was in September last year, which featured unbeaten prospects Genesis Servania and Arthur Villanueva, and the now-retired Rey ?Boom-Boom? Bautista.
It was a huge hit.
?It was overwhelming the people lining up as early 3 p.m. In a week?s time the tickets were sold out. We had to close the doors already as people were still lining up wanting to get inside,? Aldeguer said of their first event in Dubai.
Fans, mostly Filipinos, flocked to the Dubai World Trade Center but a lot weren?t accommodated because of the limited capacity of the venue.
Albert will be defending his International Boxing Federation (IBF) Inter-Continental super bantamweight title against Mexican Jesus Rios in the main event, while older brother Jason takes on Mexican Ramiro Alcaraz in a 10-round main supporting bout.
The 21-year-old Albert embraces the limelight of being the main event fighter in a huge event outside the Philippines.
?I don?t feel the pressure at all. I?m just focused on my training and the fight,? he said. ?I think there will be a knockout. He?s a fighter and likes to trade punches, that?s the type of boxer I want to fight.?
Albert, who is coming off a fourth-round stoppage of Rodolfo Hernandez, is one of the promising super bantamweights of the Philippines. He has an unbeaten slate of 23-0 with 16 knockouts and is rated fifth in IBF and 12th in the World Boxing Council (WBC).
Rios, on the other hand, is a veteran with a 31-7-1 record with 25 knockouts. He has fought but lost to the likes of Fernando Montiel and Michael Farenas.
