Emirati Eisa Al Dah, a backbone of boxing in Dubai, ready to resurrect own fight career

Omar Al Raisi talks to UAE boxing's professor emeritus ahead of his April comeback to the ring, more than three years since his last fight.

Emirati fighter and boxing promoter Eisa Al Dah is shown training at hi EMD Fitness gym on Jumeirah Beach Road in Dubai on January 21, 2015. Pawan Singh / The National

DUBAI // Boxing in the UAE owes much to one man – Eisa Al Dah.

The 36-year-old Emirati, who turned professional in 2007 and has won eight of his 10 bouts, will make a comeback to the ring in April, more than three years since his last fight.

“I’ve been boxing since I was a kid,” he said. “I love the sport of boxing, but since the last couple of years it was difficult for me to get the right fights and the sponsorships to pursue my career.

“So I organised a few boxing events in Dubai through my promotions company and then decided to open my own state-of-the-art boxing gym and academy. It’s been three years but I am back now, stronger then ever, and I’m ready to fight and be a champion again.”

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Despite the lack of action, Al Dah said he will shake off the ring rust and be fit come April 3 for his fight at the Glory 20 Dubai event, promoted through his own EMD Promotions Company.

He said he had planned to train in the US or at Amir Khan's gym in Bolton, England, but decided to stay home.

“Since I am also the promoter of the Glory 20 event, I need to be here,” Al Dah said. “So, it’s better for me to be here for my training camp.”

He said he will fight Kevin Hanks, a Briton with a 3-4 record, in a six-round middleweight bout.

“I’ve studied his last few fights, and he is a strong boxer who always goes for the knockout,” Al Dah said.

“The advantage I have is my speed. I’m faster and quicker, and that will give him some problems and, god willing, I will win this fight on my comeback.”

Al Dah and Khan, the British former two-time world champion, have been friends for years.

“Amir Khan is my brother,” Al Dah said. “I met him for the first time in Dubai after his first loss”, to Colombian Breidis Prescott in 2008.

“He was here for a training camp in a gym, and I was training there, as well. We met and became friends.

“I’ve visited him many times since then at his house in Bolton. I know his family well and he has visited me here many times as well.

“He always gives me tips on my boxing. He supports me and I support him as well. He is always welcome here in Dubai.

"I want to be the first to organise a world title fight in Dubai and I want to do it with Amir Khan. If Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather want to fight, I will organise it."

Al Dah has offered ownership of his Dubai gym to Mayweather if he were to beat Khan in a fight.

“Yes, after I announced that, everyone has been asking me about it. The offer is still open. I challenge Floyd Mayweather to beat Amir Khan. I will give him the keys to my gym and change the trade license to his name.” Al Dah, nicknamed “The Arabian Warrior” is also trying to find Emirati boxing talent through his academy.

“I was one of the first boxers from the UAE to go and fight abroad and go for training camps in the United States and United Kingdom,” he said. “When I started there was not much support and demand for combat sport, especially boxing in Dubai, and I wanted to change that.”

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