ABU DHABI // Today, as is customary on the December 26, a substantial sporting schedule will steal the festive spotlight.
From motor sports to basketball, horse racing to ice hockey, the tradition of competing on the day after Christmas is as long-standing as dressing a fir tree in baubles.
One of the sports often missing on the Boxing Day calendar is, ironically, boxing, but, contrary to popular belief, the moniker for St Stephen's Day has more to do with packaging than pugilism, especially in America where it is 11 long years since a fight took place on December 26.
Freddie Roach, the former professional boxer and now one of the most respected trainers in the sport, fought American compatriot Herman Ingram on December 26, 1981 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Roach won on points after eight punishing rounds and says he found festive training an enjoyable chore. "I fought Herman on Boxing Day, but I fought four times around Christmas," Roach said.
"You just prepare and train normally like you would for any fight, watch what you eat and drink.
"The reason I liked those shows was that I'd go to New Jersey and it was close to where I grew up in Boston, so after the fight I'd go see my family. It worked out well for me. I'd miss Christmas by a little bit, but I'd get to celebrate New Year with my family and friends.
"Now, of course, there's just too much going on."
Roach, who now trains WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan, certainly has a busy schedule.
But the coach, who celebrates his 50th birthday on March 5 - less than two weeks before the proposed clash between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr - says he would consider scheduling a fight for Boxing Day.
"My gym is open right over Christmas. We don't have any other life; this is what we do. If someone has a fight coming up, c'mon man, there's no Christmas.
"I think it's good to have fights on Boxing Day because people are at home with their families and that's the audience factor you want. They all want to watch TV over Christmas. Boxing Day is a big American sports day and that's tough to compete with, but there's boxing fans out there that would be happy to see the fights on.
"Maybe they could have a special fight on this day in the future to bring it back - I still think people would watch if they didn't attend."
Out of keeping with previous years, there will be no American football this afternoon, yet American boxing will return with five low-key bouts in Denver, Colorado.
Also making an appearance today is Irish football's Belfast derby, but it would seem the only gifts that fans of Linfield and Glentoran have enjoyed exchanging in recent years are bricks and missiles.
Of course, save for another embarrassing postponement as was witnessed on Monday at Wigan, a busy schedule of Premier League games will take place today and all eyes will be on whether Roberto Mancini can play the role of Santa Claus and provide his new Manchester City side a belated Christmas present in the shape of a much-required three points.
Stoke's Tony Pulis, meanwhile, will be aiming to morph into the Grinch and steal any Christmas joy away from Eastlands.
With much of the southern hemisphere basking in beautiful sunshine, there is little chance of the pitch at Melbourne Cricket Ground being frozen over when the traditional Boxing Day Test gets under way early this morning as Pakistan play Australia.
Originally held in 1950, the annual game features the Australian national team and whichever country happens to be "Down Under" during the summer.
South Africa became the first team in 10 years to beat the home side during the festive Test last December and Pakistan will be hoping to emulate the Proteas over the coming days.
Good cricket is guaranteed, but goodwill not so much.
Which will be in direct contrast to the love-in at London's Kempton Park, if Boxing Day's traditional King George VI Chase finishes as expected.
In Christian folklore, the three wise men followed a particularly bright star to reach their desired destination. Today, 22,000 very merry race fans will be following their own star - Kauto Star - as jockey Ruby Walsh looks to reach the finish line fastest and create history by claiming the nine- year-old his fourth successive victory.
Whatever fate is written in the stars for today's sporting protagonists only time will tell, but there is certainly enough going on to ensure any premature holiday blues are kept at bay for at least another 24 hours.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The%20specs
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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