If you were to compare today’s crop of boxers with greats of the past like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson or Joe Louis, few current fighters can hold a candle to these legends.
Perhaps the only guy out there at the moment who deserves recognition as being anywhere near the top of the list is Filipino Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao, who has won 10 world titles across eight different weight divisions. So anyone who’s a fan of the noble sport of boxing, as well as the UAE’s huge Filipino population, should be mightily pleased that his advisers have said they’re ‘very hopeful’ that he could soon be fighting here in Abu Dhabi.
Pacquiao is currently preparing to take on US boxer Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on May 7. Mike Koncz, who acts as the Filipino’s adviser, said he travelled to Abu Dhabi last year and was impressed by the facilities in the region. Meanwhile, according to The National newspaper, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, who’s also represented the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard over the years, was also in favour of the fight, but saw a slight snag in that in order to attract maximum US audiences, time zone differences between the America and the UAE would mean the fight would have to go ahead at 6am or 7am on a Sunday morning.
The fight the boxing world is pushing for is Pacquiao to take on Floyd Mayweather, who is undefeated in his 41 fight career and has won nine world championships in five different weight classes. But if the event does go ahead, after Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier was known as ‘The Thriller in Manila’, and Ali v George Foreman was called ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’, what would a bout in Abu Dhabi be called? Dust Up in the Desert was the best we could come up with. Let us know if you have any better ideas.
