UAE's Sultan Al Nuaimi and Jordanian Bader Samreen shine at inaugural Rising Stars Arabia

Sultan Al Nuaimi and Bader Samreen maintained their perfect pro boxing records with stunning victories in the inaugural Rising Stars Arabia meeting at Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Al Nuaimi outclassed Tanzanian Jemsi Kibazange by unanimous decision in their super flyweight clash to stretch his winning streak to 10 and the Dubai-based Jordanian stopped Mexican Jose Paez Gonzales in the fifth round in the main lightweight contest to remain undefeated in nine fights.

Down on the canvas in the opening round and suffering a cut above his left eye from a right hook, Al Nuaimi battled back gallantly to emerge victorious in an action-packed 10 rounds.

“It was a shock for me to get knocked down for the first time in a fight. It was a strange feeling. I could hear people yelling at me to stay down and take my own time, but I got up on six count to continue,” the Emirati told The National.

“That probably shook me up to get more serious. I quickly put that incident behind me and then I figured out my game plan as the fight progressed.

“Jemsi is an experienced boxer. He arrived with 18 wins from 26 appearances and losing only some title contests. My plan for him was to go the full distance and that’s what I did with constantly jabbing him to score.”

Al Nuaimi, 30, was returning to the ring 10 months after he fractured his thumb in his last fight against Indian Sohaib Haque in Dubai. He also had to do national service for six months.

“This wasn’t my best performance, but I’ll take this result as a positive. That’s because my training was interrupted because of the injury that required surgery and joining the national service,” he said.

“I’m back and now I’ll keep working on all my mistakes for the next fight in this