DUBAI // Jessie Robinson, the promoter of the Dubai International Boxing Championship, is keen to bring Mike Tyson, the former undisputed world heavyweight champion, to the UAE.
Robinson teamed up with Eisa al Dah, the first professional boxer from the UAE and the Gulf, to hold the first fight night in the UAE in 2007. The Dubai World Trade Centre will host the championship for a third time on February 18, with seven fights in five different divisions on the card.
Robinson lured Michael Moore, another former world heavyweight champion, for a bout in Dubai in 2008 but now he has set his sights even higher.
"I know Mike Tyson personally," Robinson said. "If I bring Tyson, boxing is going to change in this country because Tyson is boxing. I want to one day bring Tyson here and believe me everybody will know boxing then and they will know Eisa al Dah. He is the star of boxing in this country.
"You put those two together, it's a magnificent mix. Then boxing will take off like a missile because everybody knows Mike Tyson."
Eisa (6-2) will take on Spain's Ignasi Cabellero Parez (5-3) in the welterweight category later this month, while Brad Solomon, the unbeaten American, (16-0) will clash with Victor Correa (13-4) in the same division. Syria's Abdulmanem Kabbani (2-0) will battle in the heavyweight division against an opponent to be decided, while seven other fighters from the Middle East will make their debut.
Iran's Eisa Ramezani will take on Abdallah Abou Hamdan (light heavyweight), while Mehdi Ramezani will square-off against Anas Abdul Rahman of Iraq (super welterweight). Another Iranian, Ali Hossein Mardi (3-0) will meet Sohail William Ahmed Nazzal (light heavyweight) and Mohammed Akram of Syria will take the ring against Mostafa Said of Egypt.
"When we came here and started this business, me and Eisa did the promotions ourselves," Robinson, whose company EMD will be promoting the event under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council, said.
"Just me and him only, the first show. It was a skeleton group, it was just us.
"Now we've got boxing in Abu Dhabi, we got the MMA."
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