Floyd Mayweather says he is ready for “anything and everything” thrown at him in the headline event at the inaugural Global Titans Dubai on Saturday, with the American promising to put on a show in his exhibition boxing bout against Don Moore.
The former five-weight world champion, who retired undefeated from professional boxing in 2017 with a 50-0 record, takes on his former sparring partner at the top of the card on the Burj Al Arab helipad.
Entitled “The Showcase in the Skies of Dubai” and kick-starting the first Global Titans Fight Series, it is billed as the world’s first NFT (non-fungible token) pay-per-view sports event. The show features four boxing bouts in all, including UFC great Anderson Silva against UAE Warriors lightweight champion Bruno Machado.
In 42-year-old Moore, Mayweather faces an unbeaten rival, although his fellow American fought professionally only 19 times (18-0-1) – and not against the same calibre of opponent. His most recent pro bout took place in 2016.
However, Moore should be aware of what he is up against on Saturday: having previous sparred with Mayweather, beginning in 2012, he was also formerly coached by his uncle, Roger Mayweather.
On Wednesday, in a press conference at Dubai Sports Council, Mayweather was asked what challenged he expected from Moore, replying: “There’s a major difference between boxing inside a boxing gym and boxing under the lights. Because a lot of the times you have guys that can do great in a boxing gym, but don’t do great under the lights. And vice versa. That’s how it works.
“But Don’s a hell of a fighter. He’s undefeated for a reason, like myself. He hasn’t had as many fights as I’ve had because he hasn’t had the opportunity. But somebody has got to give him the opportunity to display his skills and show his talent also.
Everybody has worked extremely hard; all fighters have pushed their bodies to the limit to get to this point
Floyd Mayweather
“We’ve worked together numerous times, so we said, ‘Let’s take it under the lights now’. So we decided to come here. And Saturday we’re both going to go out there and do what we have to do.”
While Mayweather, 45, conceded he was not in the shape that helped carve his Hall of Fame career – his most recent pro appearance came against crossover UFC star Conor McGregor in August 2017 - he said: “I just honestly feel that when I was born, this was for me since the beginning. They say if you want be ready, you have to stay ready. So I’m always ready. From the starting deal to the end, I’m always ready to go.
“And I’m pretty sure all these guys [on the card] are ready to go. It’s not just about me and Anderson Silva. Everybody has worked extremely hard; all fighters have pushed their bodies to the limit to get to this point. So everybody’s here for a reason.
“I don’t want to say I’m in tip-top condition, but I’m in good condition. It’s not like where I’m getting ready for a Manny Pacquiao, or a [Saul] Canelo Alvarez or a Miguel Cotto. Don is undefeated for a reason also. So I’m pretty sure he has a great game plan.
“But I’ve seen everything [in my career]. I haven’t seen Don under the lights, but I’ve prepared myself for any- and everything that’s going to come my way.”
During a pro career that began in 1996 and boasted 15 world titles in five weights, Mayweather was involved in some of the highest-profile bouts in boxing history. His 2015 clash with Pacquiao, from which he triumphed by unanimous decision, sits still as the sport’s most lucrative fight of all-time.
On Saturday, Mayweather will fight Moore in front of 40 spectators on the helipad, but said that would not negatively affect his motivation going into the contest.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “I’m a fighter. I was born a fighter; I’ll die a fighter. Fighting’s want to do.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s when I fought in front of 60,000 or fighting in front of six. I’m always going to go out there and display my skills and give the people a show – that’s what the people want. So I’m going to give the people what they want to see.”
Mayweather said he had at least two more exhibition bouts planned - in 2018, he fought Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa and then last year YouTuber Logan Paul, winning both – with the first to be staged once more in Japan. He said the other would be “probably in Dubai again”.
Meanwhile, Moore said: “I have great talent; Floyd has great talent. We’re both undefeated fighters. I’ve been in the ring with him before numerous times. I have the blueprint that nobody’s seen before, that Roger prepared me for, and [my current] coach prepared me for. So I just have to be there. The best wants to impress.”
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
Brief scores
Day 1
Toss England, chose to bat
England, 1st innings 357-5 (87 overs): Root 184 not out, Moeen 61 not out, Stokes 56; Philander 3-46
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Mountain%20Boy
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MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
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 specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
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Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
