BOXING – FIGHTERS of various nationalities from across the GCC put on a show last night in the latest edition of the Domestic Boxing Open Air Event, held at the Dilmun Club in Saar.
The event was organised by the Bahrain Boxing Federation (BBF) in co-operation with the Dilmun Club.
The fight night featured a stacked card of 20 bouts, with participants representing boxing federations and gyms from the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and hosts Bahrain.
Former British, Commonwealth, and inter-continental heavyweight champion Scott Welch was the star guest of yesterday’s events.
Welch expressed his delight at being in the kingdom for the event, following the invitation of BBF head coach and technical manager Tony Davis.
“I’ve been going to Dubai over the past 20 years and Bahrain is lovely – it’s exactly as I imagined it,” Welch told the GDN of his first visit to the island.
“Tony told me to come out, they’re doing a show with boxers of different ages, so he wanted me to come and see what I thought.
“He’s been doing some great work here – it’s just a matter of time before it gathers more momentum. It’s fantastic to see the sport getting better and better in this region.”
Welch highlighted the importance of such fight nights for youngsters looking to make it big in the sport.
“Without these shows, boxing doesn’t exist,” Welch explained. “You cannot learn your craft by just going out and having a fight – it’ll just be pure street-fighting mentality. You have to learn your craft by coming and boxing in these events. You can work on things and get everything right, so you can be better next time. This is what these shows teach kids from a young age.”
Welch is the World Boxing Council Cares UK chairman, and he is also famous for his role in the 2000 feature film Snatch, where he had a fight scene with superstar actor Brad Pitt.
Yesterday’s bouts featured fighters, both men and women, competing in elite, juniors, youth, and schools categories.
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