Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto Ramirez bout will 'put Abu Dhabi on the boxing world map'

UAE Boxing Federation president Anas Al Otaiba has said November's world title bout between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will help put Abu Dhabi on the world fight map.

The light heavyweight clash between WBA champion Bivol and Ramirez on November 7 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island will add to the expanding list of combat sports such as mixed martial arts, jiu-jitsu, muaythai and kick boxing to make a lasting impression in the UAE.

“This fight for the light world title indeed is a huge advertisement to put Abu Dhabi on the boxing world map,” Al Otaiba told The National.

“Saudi Arabia took the lead by staging two world heavyweight title contests and the Bivol-Ramirez fight will further strengthen the sport’s presence in the region.”

The kingdom hosted the Oleksandr Usyk's win over Anthony Joshua in their rematch last month, while the Briton avenged his defeat against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.

“We aren’t involved in professional boxing but develop the sport at the amateur level by organising competitions which obviously is a platform for the boxers to turn professionals,” Al Otaiba said.

“We may not be involved in the staging of the title fight but we believe it’s an important step forward in many ways to create awareness of the sport, particularly among the locals.”

Meanwhile, the UAE federation broke new ground by signing a deal with their Serbian counterparts that will see reciprocal competitions between the national teams of the two countries, as well as various exchange programmes.

“This is the first ever MoU [memorandum of understanding] we have signed with any country and our work begins immediately with the first high performance training for the UAE team schedule for November,” Nenad Borovcanin,