DUBAI // Floyd Mayweather Jr’s fight with Manny Pacquiao was never going to take place in the UAE, but it was no surprise the country showed an interest. Eighteen years ago, when Mayweather was fighting debutants in Chula Vista and Pacquiao was an 18-year-old southpaw with 16 professional bouts under his belt, the Emirates were already dreaming of hosting title fights.
On March 27, 1997, Chris Eubank fought little-known Camilo Alarcon in Dubai as part of a comeback tour. The British former world super middleweight champion was approaching his 31st birthday and arrived at the Aviation Club proclaiming that victory would help him earn a shot at the world light heavyweight title.
In Dubai, before stepping on what proved to be a loose and bumpy canvas in a ring set up on centre court, Eubank said a deal was already in the works to hold a prospective title bout along the road in the UAE capital.
“I am setting up a world title fight now for May 15th, which will be in Abu Dhabi,” said Eubank, who had been training in the Emirates for the previous three months.
“Any championship I can get hold of is good — it gives me credibility for what I am doing.”
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Alarcon, an unheralded Colombian who had not fought for more than a year, did not add credibility to Eubank’s crusade.
While the London-born Eubank claimed the light-heavyweight bout was being broadcast to 110 countries and potentially 800 million viewers, such was the disinterest in his home country, a television deal was never signed with British broadcasters.
“People are more interested in a title fight, which l can understand,” he said before his scheduled 10-round match. “But they will sit up and take notice after I beat this man.”
The fight was broadcast on Eurosport and footage from it has been uploaded to YouTube (watch the full fight below).
It does not show Eubank, ever the flamboyant showman, entering the ring in a crane before stripping down to his trademark yellow-gold shorts, but it does showcase the crowd — predominantly male, sporting wide-necked shirts and kanduras.
The sponsors' branding, including Coca-Cola, Dugas and Gulf Today, can also be seen splashed all over the canvas.
When the bell sounded to start the UAE’s first major professional boxing bout, Eubank went on the offensive.
With Alarcon refusing to commit, the Brighton-based Brit landed a couple of jabs, but midway through the third round, the Colombian counter-puncher surprised him with a swinging right. Eubank recovered and, with a little less than 30 seconds left in the fourth round, a flurry of punches left his opponent on the canvas with weak knees.
“He was a big puncher, but as I was preparing to accept punishment, he left himself open,” Eubank said over a group of English spectators serenading him with requests to give them a wave.
Throngs of Arabs in national dress meanwhile waved UAE flags, no doubt already thinking of the short journey down Sheikh Zayed Road to watch Eubank’s title fight two months later.
The Abu Dhabi match never happened, though, and Eubank instead fought Joe Calzaghe for the WBO world super middleweight belt in Sheffield, losing by unanimous decision.
Two more bouts in England ended in defeat before he finally retired and relocated to Dubai, where he has lived on and off alongside his wife and manager Claire — while the UAE still waits to host its first major title fight.
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
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Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series
Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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SPECS
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Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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