BOXING – ROYAL Rumble IV will be the charity fight night’s biggest and best edition yet, organisers claimed yesterday.
The kingdom’s popular boxing event will be taking place November 27 at Crowne Plaza Bahrain, featuring fighters representing Bahrain’s Royal Guard and the UK Armed Forces.
It will be held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, with proceeds going to the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF).
Details of this year’s highly anticipated black-tie affair were announced in a Press conference yesterday held at the event venue.
Bahrain Boxing Federation technical manager and national team head coach Tony Davis revealed that five boxing icons will be in attendance, making for a star-studded affair, and the stellar fight card promises for “a cracker night”.
“In previous editions of the Royal Rumble, we’ve always boxed against regimens from the British Army – this time, we’ve got the best of the British Army, the best of the Royal Air Force, and the best of the Royal Navy,” said Davis during yesterday’s conference.
“This is a message for our boxers: You’d better be ready, because these guys aren’t coming just for a holiday. This will be our sternest test to date.
“We’re also going to have five world champions in attendance – three that are now retired and two who are still active – and that in itself is fantastic.
“I want everyone to walk away from it and say ‘What a cracker night!’”
Royal Rumble IV’s guest stars include two-time world champion and Athens 2004 Olympics silver-medallist Amir Khan, WBO cruiserweight and WBC bridgerweight world champion Lawrence Okolie, WBA (Regular) super-middleweight world champion Rocky Fielding, former middleweight world champion Darren Barker, and ex-super featherweight world champion Barry Jones.
Bahrain national boxing team captain Rasheed Mehrinfar has been a part of every Royal Rumble since the first edition. He is now looking forward to spearheading the kingdom’s fighters towards a repeat of their success from last year, where they won six of the eight bouts against the British Army’s Royal Engineers.
“Year after year, Tony and the team have been able to put the event on a grander and grander scale,” Mehrinfar told the GDN.
“It’s definitely been incredible and amazing to be a part of – to represent Bahrain on this incredible night in front of superstars and royalty. It’s something that every aspiring athlete dreams of.
“A quote I love to live by is ‘Fighters train for a fight, but champions train year-round’, so it’s important to always be working and slowly chipping away towards your goals, and this is what we’re doing.
“These fights come up and you don’t take six or seven months off and just jump off the couch and prepare. It’s something that is continuous progress, so when the fight is announced, you’re ready, and the ball is already rolling.
“We have this big competition coming up, and we’re ready. We’re pumping up the intensity of training in preparation for it.”
Maryam Khamis, Bahrain’s women’s boxer who made her Royal Rumble debut last year and won her bout, is thrilled to once again be a part of the event.
“This year will be my second time boxing in the Royal Rumble, and inshallah I will give a better performance,” Khamis told the GDN. “When you train every day, you see yourself different from before. Now, I see myself much better than last year.
“I always train like I have a fight tomorrow, so I prepare like this every day.”
A video message from UK Armed Forces coach Shane Sadler was played during yesterday’s conference. “This event has been growing, it’s been getting bigger and bigger every year, and the team is looking forward to putting on a great spectacle,” Sadler said. “I know this will be a great experience for all.”
Davis is excited to welcome the kingdom’s guests for Royal Rumble IV and is keen on having the visiting boxers engage with members of the community.
“They are very enthused about coming over,” Davis noted. “We’ve done some matching already, three months out, and they want to get around as well with the community.
“Last year, we did some training sessions at the British Club, so if any schools want to get in touch, we can facilitate something like it – bring that community engagement.”
Royal Rumble IV will include an official weigh-in the night prior. On both evenings, there will be some entertainment, with popular Bahraini singer Amal Al Anbary performing live.
A charity auction will also be held during the main night’s programme. For table sale enquiries, contact +973-66688373.
Also in attendance at yesterday’s conference were Crowne Plaza Bahrain general manager Charbel Hanna, Crowne Plaza Bahrain sales director Kawthar Lanbari, and assistant defence attache Francine Newton.
Royal Rumble III raised around BD60,000 for the RHF. Last year’s event saw Bahrain’s Royal Guard maintain their winning record in the Royal Rumble’s three editions.
In the first fight night in 2022, Bahrain’s Royal Guard boxers took on the British Army’s Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and won eight of the nine bouts. In 2023, the Royal Guard defeated the British Army’s Parachute Regiment in six of the nine contests.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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