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Anthony Joshua‘s promoter says the world champion’s next title defence may not be staged behind closed doors despite the coronavirus crisis.
Vast wealth and the promise of dramatic change make for cautious optimism concerning Saudi Arabia, the chief executive…
1877 Views | the publication reaches you by | Saudi Arabia TodayThe London bout has been postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic and Hearn would be willing to move it to the Middle East if an audience is allowed there.
Hearn has already suggested he might stage the clash between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin in an empty venue, but the financial implications of doing the same with Joshua make it unworkable.
“We’re not going to go to AJ and say, mate, there’s £10 million less in the pot – we’ve got to get creative,” Hearn told Boxing Social on Wednesday.
“These countries are going to be up and running a lot quicker than our country or America.
“Would Saudi [Arabia] or Dubai or Abu Dhabi be ready to stage an event in September or October? I think 100 percent.
“If you can’t get a live gate for the bigger fights we have to look elsewhere and that involves looking at other territories.
“Do I really want AJ to box behind closed doors? No. With what he has produced in terms of that live audience, I will be doing everything I can do make sure AJ doesn’t fight behind closed doors.”
The British Boxing Board of Control has issued a series of rules for the sport’s prospective domestic return in July, including all shows taking place without fans, and trainers and officials wearing face-masks.
Hearn said he broadly accepted the guidelines, which they insist are not necessarily binding, but called it “a very conservative starting-point”.
150 take part through Watani Al Emarat via the ‘Your City Needs You’ initiative Over 150 volunteers –…
1635 Views | the publication reaches you by | Saudi Arabia Today
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The Arab states of the Persian Gulf are the seven Arab states which border the Persian Gulf, namely Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).This excludes the non-Arab state of Iran. All of these nations except Iraq are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
