Dubai-based Jordanian lightweight Bader Samreen will be out to stretch his unbeaten record when he meets Mexico's Jose Paez Gonzales in the main event of the inaugural Rising Stars Arabia fight card at the Mubadala Arena on Saturday.
The 2018 AIBA Youth World Championships bronze medallist is on eight wins - seven by knockout - and this weekend faces the biggest test of his career since turning professional in 2021.
“I’m very excited and this is a great opportunity to feature in the main event in Abu Dhabi,” Samreen told The National of the fight series that includes fighters from the Arab region and across the world.
“This is an opportunity and I’ll make sure I prove myself. I know a lot about Jose. He’s an experienced fighter, and me and my coach [Robert Etorma from the Philippines] have studied every angle of him, and we will hopefully come out victorious.”
Samreen began boxing at the age of 12 in 2012 in Amman, and had a successful amateur career, becoming a four-time national and Arab champion as well as winning bronze at the World Youth Championships.
He moved to Dubai in February 2021 and turned professional under manager Ahmed Al Seddiqi, the Emirati who established the first specialised boxing gym – Round 10 Boxing Gym – in the country and pioneered pro boxing in the region as a promoter and manager.
“Hopefully I can take my undefeated record forward, and hopefully keep climbing the stairs,” the Jordanian said.
“I have a lot of goals to achieve but right now I want to get this contest behind me. We have a gameplan for a title fight next year.
“All I must do is to keep training and learning from my manager while he monitors my progress and prepares my pathway. It is a partnership that is going well - he does his job and I do my job.”
Samreen met Al Seddiqi on social media and that interaction has now allowed him to pursue his dream.
“We don’t have pro boxing in Jordan,” he said. “Nobody in the world will be looking for pro boxers in Jordan. After winning a bronze in the World Youths I started contacting hundreds of those involved in pro boxing.
“I was just trying my luck because I came from a humble family. I thought winning bronze in the World Youths was an opportunity to try to get into pro boxing so I started messaging people with the hope of getting an opportunity.
“I had some responses but never the opportunity. Ahmed struck up a dialogue that lasted over three months before one fine day he asked me to send my passport details.
“It was towards the end of 2020 when the entire world was struggling with travel restrictions because of Covid-19.”
It turned out to be a life-changing experience for Samreen, who is the second child in a family of four siblings. He did, however, have to sacrifice his education for boxing.
“My final exam in high school clashed with the World Youths and I failed in two subjects. I thought I’ll go back to school but I didn’t because I wanted to pursue boxing full-time, which was my dream,” he said.
Samreen featured on the Oleksandr Usyk v Anthony Joshua undercard on August 20 last year at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. He stopped Fuad Tarverdi of Azerbaijan with a first round TKO. He then returned to the ring to defeat Romanian Viorel Simion, also by first round TKO, on the Jake Paul versus Tommy Fury undercard in February.
Joining Samreen from the Round 10 Boxing Gym is UAE's Sultan Al Nuaimi, who also puts his nine-fight undefeated pro record on the line when he meets Tanzanian Jemsi Kibazange in the super-flyweight division.
Al Nuaimi, 30, returns more than a year after breaking his thumb in his last fight against India's Sohaib Haque in Dubai.
“I fractured my thumb in the first round but kept going and won by knockout in the seventh round,” he said of his last fight in November 2022. “I broke my thumb in the first 30 seconds of the first round. I didn’t think it was so bad at that time. It needed surgery and it took me two months to fully recover.”
Thereafter, Al Nuaimi had to undergo national service for six months and is now employed with Dubai Police.
“The police department knows of my boxing background and they give me time off for my training,” he said.
He meets an experienced opponent and billed it as the biggest of his pro career.
“Obviously the obstacles get bigger as you move up the ranks but I’m well prepared. Hopefully, I can come out of this with a win and continue my journey,” Al Nuaimi added.
Fight card (doors open 6pm)
Featherweight (4 rounds): Yousuf Ali (2-0-0 win/loss/draw) BHR v Alex Semugenyi (0-1-0) UGA
Welterweight (6 rounds): Benyamin Moradzadeh (0-0-0) IRN v Rohit Chaudhary (4-0-2) IND
Heavyweight (4 rounds): Youssef Karrar (1-0-0) v Muhammad Muzeei (0-0-0) UGA
Welterweight (6 rounds): Marwan Mohamad Madboly (2-0-0) EGY v Sheldon Schultz (4-4-0) RSA
Super-featherweight (8 rounds): Bishara Sabbar (6-0-0) JOR v Mohammed Azahar (8-5-1) IND
Cruiserweight (8 rounds): Mohammed Bekdash (25-0-0) GER v Musa N’tege (8-4-0) UGA
Super-flyweight (10 rounds): Sultan Al Nuaimi (9-0-0) UAE v Jemsi Kibazange (18-6-2) TZA
Lightweight (10 rounds): Bader Samreen (8-0-0) JOR v Jose Paez Gonzales (16-2-2) MEX
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Racecard
2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m
2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m
3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m
4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m
5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m
The National selections:
2pm Arch Gold
2.30pm Conclusion
3pm Al Battar
3.30pm Golden Jaguar
4pm Al Motayar
4.30pm Tapi Sioux
5pm Leadership
5.30pm Dahawi
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE%20SWIMMERS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESally%20El-Hosaini%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENathalie%20Issa%2C%20Manal%20Issa%2C%20Ahmed%20Malek%20and%20Ali%20Suliman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Karnatake Tuskers 114-1 (10 ovs)
Charles 57, Amla 47
Bangla Tigers 117-5 (8.5 ovs)
Fletcher 40, Moores 28 no, Lamichhane 2-9
Bangla Tiger win by five wickets
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
More on animal trafficking
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
RESULTS
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer)
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jordan Sport, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Jungle Cat, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Kimbear, Patrick Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Hawkbill, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Klipit%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Venkat%20Reddy%2C%20Mohammed%20Al%20Bulooki%2C%20Bilal%20Merchant%2C%20Asif%20Ahmed%2C%20Ovais%20Merchant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Digital%20receipts%2C%20finance%2C%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%244%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%2Fself-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
