After more than six months of negotiations, Eisa Al Dah believes he has finally checked off one of his long-held objectives: putting Dubai on the boxing world map.
The Emirati will take on former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton in a middleweight contest at The Agenda in Dubai on December 2 – a red letter day in the country when it celebrates its 54th National Day.
Al Dah, the first Emirati pro boxer and now promoter, has lofty ambitions to turn Dubai into the “Las Vegas of boxing,” and he believes he’s already captured the world’s attention with Monday's announcement.
“I have been in this game for a long time and the announcement of Hatton returning to the ring has already created a buzz in the international media,” Al Dah told The National in an exclusive interview.
Hatton, who turns 47 in October, held the light-welterweight and welterweight world titles and is returning to the ring after his last professional bout in 2012, where he suffered a ninth-round knockout to Ukraine's Vyacheslav Senchenko.
His only other two defeats were against Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, widely regarded as two of the finest boxers of all time. He has a professional record of 45 wins, 32 by way of knockout, against three losses. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2024.
Al Dah, 46, has a pro record of eight wins and three defeats, according to boxrec.com, the last of which came against the Mexican Pedro Alejandro Delgado in Mexico City in July 2021.
“It was my plan to stage a big show, and I tried all the big names that I could think of, and finally it was Hatton who agreed. We are about the same age and we both are returning after being out of boxing for a while.
“Now I come back with something very big. I was working for this deal for over six months and we closed the deal with this big champion Ricky Hatton. He’s a big name, he fought Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, and he was a great fighter.”
The fight with Hatton, slated for eight rounds, is dubbed “Destiny in the Desert 2" and brings Al Dah full circle – his first bout, also in Dubai, was the original “Destiny in the Desert” against American Larry Foster in 2007.
Having started his journey in the sport with the UAE national team in 2001, Al Dah turned professional six years later, winning his first three bouts before a defeat to Mexican Alfredo Valdes two years later.
“Boxing didn’t get the attention it deserved back in my early days and having spent nearly 25 years in the game, I’m in a position now to achieve something more for the sport and for the UAE,” he said.
“I also want to inspire people over here that I can still become a champion at 46. This is my main goal. It's not the money, it's just for the UAE. This is what made me return to the ring,” Al Dah said.
“I want to make boxing so big over here. I want to make Dubai Las Vegas.”
Al Dah regularly hosts boxing events in Dubai, promoting upcoming boxers from India, Pakistan, Egypt, Morocco and the Middle East region under his EMD Fight Nights banner. He admits luring Hatton to step out of retirement has not come cheap, but hopes the benefits will be long-lasting for Dubai.
“Of course he’s a big name in boxing and he is not coming for free,” Al Dah said. “You cannot bring a big name without money. It’s a good deal for Dubai to benefit as a venue.
“It's not about the money, it's just about history, where one guy from the UAE is taking on a boxing legend.”
With less than five months to go before fight night against Hatton, Al Dah says he will set aside his business interests to focus on his preparations for the fight.
“I’ll leave all my business work aside and just concentrate on training for the fight. I’ll train in the US, training with the best of the best. It's just me and training, that's it,” he said.
