LAS VEGAS // Victor Ortiz will enter the ring against Floyd Mayweather Jr on Saturday as the WBC welterweight champion but he will also be a heavy underdog — a tag with which he is entirely comfortable.
The Mexican-American will defend his title against the undefeated five-division world champion and, hardly surprisingly, his challenger has been installed as favourite.
"I have nothing to lose, man," Ortiz said at the MGM Grand last night while preparing for the 12-round bout. "He has everything I want. I don't see myself as champion. I'm still hungry."
Ortiz, 29-2-2 (22 KOs), took the WBC welterweight title from Andre Berto in April, the climax of a career that had long been tipped to scale great heights but hit a roadblock when he quit in the sixth round against Marcos Maidana in June 2009.
In contrast, the career path of Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) has been almost free of obstacles and he has steadily established himself as one of contemporary boxing's two biggest names — along with the Filipino pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather is widely regarded as one of the best defensive fighters of all time, yet Ortiz said he had never been especially impressed by the American's credentials.
"I don't really see a whole lot," the 24 year old Ortiz added. "He's fought some decent guys, but guys who were on their way up or on their way out.
"You can say whatever you want about me, but I've fought some very good guys, in their prime. I've banged with the best."
The left-handed Ortiz is renowned for his punching power and, whether he won or lost, he has knocked down every one of his 33 opponents.
Mayweather is best known for his slick defensive skills but he insisted yesterday that he would stand toe-to-toe with his younger opponent.
"I'm going to go in there, I'm going to execute the game plan, I'm going to go in there with class and leave with class," the 34-year-old said.
"You guys don't have to worry about me back-pedaling. I'm coming straight ahead, so hopefully he's coming straight ahead."
The flamboyant Mayweather, who is renowned for his trash-talking, predicted an early knockout on Saturday.
"He [Ortiz] says the fight won't go the distance, I say the fight won't go the distance and so hopefully it won't go the distance," Mayweather said. "I get hit with a good shot, no problem, I shake it right off.
"I'm still coming at you. I'm a good finisher, too. So, when I hurt you, don't grab me, don't hold on at all. I'm going to finish you off."
Unmoved, Ortiz merely smiled in response.
"Mayweather's had his time," he said. "He did his thing for many years. Forty-one [fighters] have tried, 41 have failed. Forty-one of those were not me."
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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.”
BABYLON
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)