From the outside at least, Anthony Joshua appears to have rediscovered his mojo.
The engaging Briton, a two-time world heavyweight champion, has cut a contented figure in Saudi Arabia this week, as the build-up to his looming win-or-bust bout with crossover mixed martial arts star Francis Ngannou reaches its crescendo in Riyadh on Friday night.
“Knockout Chaos”, the catchy and captivating tagline for a clash that pits against one another two former heavyweight title-holders from different disciplines, feels an apt description. Both Joshua and Ngannou are physical specimens; both possess the power to put the other’s lights out.
However, it is the mental aspect that could decide the 10-round contest at Kingdom Arena. And while Joshua’s prodigious frame and physical prowess forged his resplendent rise to sporting superstardom, when it all began to unravel, it was the space between the ears that copped most of the criticism.
Those were the suspicions heading into last December dust-up with Otto Wallin, also in the Saudi capital, highlighted pre-fight by the dangerous Swedish southpaw, and parroted by Deontay Wilder, the former WBC champion at the time considered next in line to test Joshua’s fractured mettle.
The Englishman, for once, did not engage, his words brief, his responses curt. Given he came into the bout with questions still swirling regarding his resolve at the elite-end of professional boxing, it was deemed as further sign of a once-impenetrable force of nature slipping deeper into the darkness.
But Joshua’s performance that night pulled him back into the light. He eased to a fifth-round TKO in a performance full of the old bite, and, perhaps more crucially, spite.
Granted, Wallin was cherry-picked. Yes, he rode a six-fight win streak, and had given Tyson Fury a torrid night in his only other pro defeat, but as an old amateur foe of Joshua’s and former sparring partner, too, his rival knew intimately what he was getting into to.
Wallin represented an appropriate opponent, stylistically suited, a familiar challenge that could buttress dented belief.
That it marked also Joshua’s inaugural fight with Ben Davidson as trainer – the heavyweight’s fourth coach in as many fights, heavy evidence of a fallen talent searching for solutions – provided an amenable start to the pair’s relationship. Like Joshua’s display in dismantling Wallin, Davidson’s game-plan proved perfect.
Ngannou, though, shapes as an altogether different challenge. There’s a school of thought, educated even if the sample size is confined to a solitary pro fight, that Fury simply underestimated the African in that shock-inducing encounter last October.
Debuting in the pro game, Ngannou knocked down the WBC champion and, in losing to a contentious split decision, came staggering close to inflicting Fury’s first defeat in a 35-fight pro career that, for many, places him at the peak of this generation.
Ngannou, a relative novice despite his albeit-limited boxing background from the early years in Batie, showed that night that he carries considerable threat.
He was physically strong, hit hard and countered well. It is worth remembering that Ngannou is a natural fighter, measured and meticulous, able to adapt amid the white-hot heat of battle and capable of maintaining composure under pressure. To reiterate, he is a former UFC champion.
But has the surprise element gone? Where Fury was caught on his heels, Joshua has been forewarned. Armed by Davidson’s expert mind, the consensus is Joshua’s route to victory flows through his snapping jab and straight right. Piece Ngannou up, break him down. Ngannou himself concedes he could struggle with the pace through 10 rounds.
And, unlike a seemingly laser-focused Joshua on site this week, Ngannou has been distracted by Fury’s presence in Riyadh, even if the former won the war of words during Wednesday’s lively press conference.
Even the previous night, when the October opponents came face-to-face at the residence of Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's general entertainment authority and arguably boxing's most pivotal protagonist at present, there was reportedly another tense exchange.
Also present, Joshua avoided any additional expenditure of energy.
“I just stood in the corner, held my ground and scanned the room,” he said. “It was proper. [Fury] refused his handshake and promised to knock him out. But that’s Fury, and Ngannou will have to get used to it on his boxing journey.”
For sure, Joshua is used to high-stakes scenarios like Friday night. Potentially, he has it all to lose. A defeat against a man contesting a second pro boxing bout would do substantially more damage than the upset loss to Andy Ruiz Jr, or the back-to-back reverses against the mightily slick Oleksandr Usyk.
Is this supposed third act in Joshua’s redemption arc, the resuscitation of an apparently careening career to being anointed a three-time world heavyweight champion, going to meet its conclusion on the end of a Ngannou left hook?
Yet Joshua, for the past few years apparently burdened by the weight of the world, appears finally liberated. Listen to the sound bites emanating from Saudi.
On Wednesday, he told the gathered press: “One of the main things I’m looking forward to is to show how good I am.”
Later, in conversation with the BBC, Joshua sounded like a man at genuine ease with what lay ahead.
“Taking it all in,” he said. “Right now, it’s all boxing. This is the best time of my life, and I’m going to enjoy it. These moments, these nights, these fights.
“I’m in a good place. I’m ready. Let’s go … let’s go. I can’t wait. It can’t come soon enough.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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