By Jake Donovan
For years, the oil-rich emirate of Dubai has found its way to many a boxing rumor. If a potential superfight needed to spark immediate debate, Dubai would be listed along with Las Vegas, New York and Mexico as one of at least four rumored locations. Of course, a fight would never actually land in Dubai (still waiting for Roy Jones-Vasiliy Jirov to pan out), but enough to force someone else's hand in picking up the desired tab. It's also still enough to keep the emirate embedded in the rumor mill.
That statement could very well change come next month. A recent press release circulated by the offices of local promoter Jesse Robinson suggests plans to bring a four-fight card, headlined by former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, to the Shaikh Rasheed Hall in the Dubai World Trade Center on February 8.
If the card pans out, Moorer (51-4-1, 39KO) will be facing South Carolina's Shelby "The Bonetown Brawler" Gross in the evening's main event. Gross (16-3-1 NC, 13KO), having previously campaigned at light heavyweight and cruiserweight, will be making a long-rumored move to heavyweight for the fight, which was originally schedule to take place last year in Puerto Rico, before falling through for undisclosed reasons.
Moorer made boxing history in 1994 when he became the first southpaw ever to win the world heavyweight crown after narrowly outpointing Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas. His reign was short-lived, lasting just one fight and seven months. He would once again find his name etched in the history books, this time on the business end of the equation, when then 45-year old George Foreman erased a massive deficit on the scorecards with a rally that led to a 10 th round knockout, becoming the oldest fighter ever to win the heavyweight title.
Prior to winning the linear crown, Moorer also held fringe titles at heavyweight and light heavyweight. He also won a paper title in 1996, holding off a late rally to outpoint Axel Schulz in Germany. That reign lasted 17 months, before Holyfield was able to avenge his earlier loss with an 8 th round knockout in their November 1997 PPV main event. He is currently on a five-fight winning streak, spanning two separate comebacks. His most recent win was a split decision over Roderick Willis last October in Puerto Rico.
Gross' career is not quite as polished. In the ring, he's better known for the guys he lost to (KO1 to Antonio Tarver, KO5 by Dale Brown, TKO3 by Robert Daniels) than for any of his wins. Outside the ropes, he's best known for his testimony in implicating fixed fights involving former fringe heavyweight Richie Melito. Gross was offered $8,000 to take a dive against Melito, but had the wherewithal to record the conversation and submit tapes to the FBI, which eventually led to a conviction against former promoter Robert Mitchell, among others targeted in the fight-fixing scheme.
The South Carolina native once again found himself surrounded by controversy in his wild shootout with Bobby Gunn in March 2006. Gross overcame two knockdowns, the second of which was aided by the longest nine-count in boxing history, to floor Gunn three times in the 2 nd round. The first knockdown of the round nearly resulted in a disqualification, as Gross continued to swing away at a floored and defenseless Gunn before being picked up and bodyslammed by the referee, who afterward let Gross off with a stern warning. Two more knockdowns, and Gunn was out for the night, failing to beat the count at the end of the round.
It was all for naught, as the decision was overturned weeks later after Gross's post-fight urinalysis tested positive for marijuana. Gross hasn't fought since then, despite having been named in rumored bouts with Moorer, Eliseo Castillo (the last fighter to defeat Moorer) and undefeated fringe heavyweight contender JD Chapman, the latter also rumored to appear on the card against an opponent to be named.
Another fighter named in the article was Dubai's only registered professional boxer, Eisa Al Dah, whose lone pro fight came last March in his homeland. "The Arabian Warrior" is to fight American journeyman David Love (1-3, 1KO, all four fights ending in the 1 st round).
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
