The all-British grudge match between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr could finally take place in Abu Dhabi later this year, according to reports.
Promoters Matchroom have previously stated their desire to hold the bout in the UK, with the Principality Stadium in Cardiff their preferred venue.
However, with Benn still unable to box in the UK because of an unresolved doping case, the Daily Mail reported that a deal has been lined up to bring the fight to Abu Dhabi on December 23.
The British rivals, both sons of famous boxers, were originally scheduled to fight at London's O2 Arena in October 2022 but the bout was cancelled 24 hours beforehand after it was discovered that Benn had tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug clomifene.
The event had gained significant public interest because of a bitter feud between their fathers that had produced two classic fights in the 1990s.
It later emerged that Benn had in fact failed two separate VADA-administered tests, but the 27-year-old has always maintained his innocence.
In July, a ruling made by the National Anti-Doping Panel saw his suspension lifted but UK Anti Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control lodged an appeal and Benn remains unlicensed and unable to fight in a UK ring.
A previous attempt to bring the fight to Abu Dhabi in September was shelved because of the ongoing uncertainty over Benn's situation.
Since then, the 34-year-old Eubank Jr posted an impressive 10th-round stoppage victory in a rematch with Liam Smith, while Benn made a low-key return to the ring with a points victory over the unknown Mexican Rodolfo Orozco in Florida last month.
Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn this week reiterated his determination to make the fight, and with Benn's case still no closer to being resolved, that would appear to make Abu Dhabi a front-runner for hosting duties.
"We have every intention to make it happen,' Hearn told the BBC. "Our side with Conor Benn and the side of Kalle Sauerland and Chris Eubank want to move forward and make that fight.
"We feel that because of the situation with Conor Benn's suspension being lifted and winning that case that he should be allowed and able to fight in the UK.
"We're speaking to the British Boxing Board of Control. We think legally there's no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to fight in the UK but obviously it's their decision."
Hearn added that should the British board prevent Benn fighting domestically then the show would be taken abroad and could even feature heavyweight Anthony Joshua on the bill.
"If we are not allowed to do that, we will hold the fight internationally but it's our preference of course to bring that big fight to Britain.
"We also have a rather large heavyweight called Anthony Joshua who's saying, 'if I'm not fighting Deontay Wilder in January, I would quite like to fight in December as well'. So we're trying to work it all out but, quite frankly, I think it's very unlikely that we don't have a show on 23 December."
Matchroom last year signed a deal with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism to stage shows in the UAE capital, the first of which saw WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol defeat Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at the Etihad Arena last November.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
