By Victor Salazar
Speaking with a few Top Rank personnel at the final presser for this weekend’s HBO’s Boxing After Dark even in New York, the discussion of the company heading over to Dubai appeared to be nothing more than chatter. But when talking to the company CEO, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, he seemed to be a lot more serious about staging a card in the country later this year.
Should Nicholas Walters defeat Miguel Marriagathis weekend, Arum wants to match Walters with his other 126 lb. champion, Vasyl Lomachenko, a unification showdown in Dubai in November of this year
“We hope to do the fight (Walters-Lomachenko) in November of this year,” Arum told BoxingScene.com “That would be the next fight for both in November. Dubai people want the fight.”
As previously reported on BoxingScene, Arum would also likely stage a fight between the winner of Jessie Vargas-Tim Bradley facing Sadam Ali along with Gilberto Ramirez fighting the winner of Arthur Abraham and Robert Stieglitz.
“We’re working on all those fights and will likely want to add a fight with Nonito Donaire and Scott Quigg,” stated the hall of fame promoter.
Arum has made strides in taking his show in other parts of the world particularly in Macau and feels that could be the trend moving forward.
“I think we’re aware is that boxing is becoming a global sport again and to confine yourself to one country as big as America is ridiculous particularly when we can expand and do fights all over the world,” stated Arum.
Arum took his biggest company star in Manny Pacquiao and staged two of his fights in Macau, and once his star returns in 2016 - Pacquiao might be headlining a card in Dubai.
“Manny is recuperating from the operation and coming to the United States to the doctor who operated on him and then he’s going to go into rehab,” Arum said. “I can’t tell when he’ll because I’m not a doctor to know when the rehab will put his shoulder fully healed. All these athletes are different but we’ll have to see. We’re looking at no later than spring 2016, maybe in Dubai."
Asked if he would like to stage a Dubai headliner between Manny Pacquiao and British star Amir Khan, should a Mayweather rematch not come to fruition, Arum replied - “Absolutely."