Kid Galahad lays into Scott Quigg

[Manchester Massive]

This approach reminds me of another Manchester lad and a Hennessy-promoted Ingle fighter.

Hatton & Witter.

Brodie v Hamed
Burke v Thaxton
Thompson v Nelson
Moore v Rhodes

All ended in the Manchester boxer being KO'd.

Hatton and Quigg happy to duck those pesky switch-hitters!

Brodie v Hamed?

[Switch hitter]

This approach reminds me of another Manchester lad and a Hennessy-promoted Ingle fighter.

Hatton & Witter.

Brodie v Hamed
Burke v Thaxton
Thompson v Nelson
Moore v Rhodes

All ended in the Manchester boxer being KO'd.

Hatton and Quigg happy to duck those pesky switch-hitters!

Brodie v Hamed?

Naz stopped him in the AM's....his last fight before turning pro

[expe]

A lot of what he says is true, but I don't blame them one bit for turning the offer down. £400k is great money, but they shouldn't be fighting each other in Dubai.

Why not?

A fighter from Manchester and a fighter from Sheffield, fighting in Dubai. What bit of that makes sense?

[The_Don1]

A lot of what he says is true, but I don't blame them one bit for turning the offer down. £400k is great money, but they shouldn't be fighting each other in Dubai.

Why not?

A fighter from Manchester and a fighter from Sheffield, fighting in Dubai. What bit of that makes sense?

Dirhams?

[Deserter]

I think about 20 cards have been rumoured for Dubai over the years and I can't remember any coming off.

This. People can't seem to get their heads around certain facts:

1) There is no real boxing or combat sport fanbase here of any note
2) The timezone doesn't work for TV
3) You're therefore completely reliant on a major benefactor/sponsor, but these people see a far better ROI from events such as the golf and horse-racing, in terms of building 'Brand Dubai'.

What about the ADCC submission championships? Also though, surely with all the expats out there, there must be somewhat of market for the likes of boxing and the like if there interesting fights?

Lefty, if you knew anything about ADCC you'd know that it's held around the globe, not in the UAE (also note that it's Abu Dhabi promoting it in this case, not Dubai - a completely separate emirate).
I'm sure you didn't mean it, but questioning whether I'm right when I've lived here for more than a decade and have been to pretty much every combat sports show staged here can come across as a bit of a piss-take. I wouldn't try and question aspects of your hometown if I've never been there and you're telling me something about it - and if I tried to, I don't think you'd take me terribly seriously

[Pugilist-specialist]

A fighter from Manchester and a fighter from Sheffield, fighting in Dubai. What bit of that makes sense?

Dirhams?

Exactly - career-high purses. The same reason that pro boxers travel to Vegas and Macau.

Or Quigg could fight another bantamweight for a lot less.

[Deserter]

A fighter from Manchester and a fighter from Sheffield, fighting in Dubai. What bit of that makes sense?

Dirhams?

Exactly - career-high purses. The same reason that pro boxers travel to Vegas and Macau.

Or Quigg could fight another bantamweight for a lot less.

See my point above. I would be utterly, utterly astonished if this fight took place in Dubai. Those names mean nothing here (Quigg and Galahad) and Vegas and Macau make it work through casino site fees, which obviously don't exist here.

[dbf]

There are regular Pinoy power shows in dubai but that plays to the large phillipino population. The UFC was in Abu dhabi but with that you are talking about a host of quality fights and the ufc brand and profile.

I think the dubai sports council are intrigued by boxing and have probably met with some promoters to try and arrange a big fight here. Not sure who there advisors are because surely if you wanted a significant event in the Middle East they could deal with the likes of Top Rank and matchroom to get a big name over. However isn't Galahad of Yemeni descent like Hamed was? That could be a Arabic angle.

[Deserter]

There are regular Pinoy power shows in dubai but that plays to the large phillipino population. The UFC was in Abu dhabi but with that you are talking about a host of quality fights and the ufc brand and profile.

I think the dubai sports council are intrigued by boxing and have probably met with some promoters to try and arrange a big fight here. Not sure who there advisors are because surely if you wanted a significant event in the Middle East they could deal with the likes of Top Rank and matchroom to get a big name over. However isn't Galahad of Yemeni descent like Hamed was? That could be a Arabic angle.

I give up...

[lefty]

This. People can't seem to get their heads around certain facts:

1) There is no real boxing or combat sport fanbase here of any note
2) The timezone doesn't work for TV
3) You're therefore completely reliant on a major benefactor/sponsor, but these people see a far better ROI from events such as the golf and horse-racing, in terms of building 'Brand Dubai'.

What about the ADCC submission championships? Also though, surely with all the expats out there, there must be somewhat of market for the likes of boxing and the like if there interesting fights?

Lefty, if you knew anything about ADCC you'd know that it's held around the globe, not in the UAE (also note that it's Abu Dhabi promoting it in this case, not Dubai - a completely separate emirate).
I'm sure you didn't mean it, but questioning whether I'm right when I've lived here for more than a decade and have been to pretty much every combat sports show staged here can come across as a bit of a piss-take. I wouldn't try and question aspects of your hometown if I've never been there and you're telling me something about it - and if I tried to, I don't think you'd take me terribly seriously

Fairplay mate. I actually wasnt trying to question your knowledge, It was a genuine question. I think that was a tad of an overreaction to be honest.

[magwitch]

If backers in Dubai are willing to stump up that sort of money then Quigg has good reason to imagine it could be more than a little dodgy.

Galahad looks a very tidy and nimble boxer but I don't think he'd be able to hold Quigg off - there is a difference in levels and power.

Apparanly Galahad schooled Quigg in sparring and also Quigg has been down in the past against guys that are probably lighter hitters than Galahad is. I think Galahad would outbox him.

Lefty you're quite the fan of sparring rumours lol...I'm still not sold on Galahad & I'd fancy Quigg to stop him at some point. Saying that, it seems Galahad is very well thought of by pretty much everyone who's trained or sparred with him, so he must have a lot more about him than he's needed to show so far.

I do know one thing for certain - it's a damn shame to have 3 of our most promising prospects in the same weight division on 3 different channels!

This.
I unfortunately have seen hardly anything of Quigg so I'll keep out of this one. I saw Galahad last year on channel 5 where they seemed to be trying to draw parallels with Naseem Hamed, which I personally did not see, however I saw a bit a few weeks ago and he looked slicker and stronger.

[Deserter]

Fairplay mate. I actually wasnt trying to question your knowledge, It was a genuine question. I think that was a tad of an overreaction to be honest.

No worries fella - just a bit frustrating when I always see the normal speculation about Dubai when I know the on the ground reality. For some reason it's not letting me post a smilie, so 'thumbs up'!

[lefty]

Fairplay mate. I actually wasnt trying to question your knowledge, It was a genuine question. I think that was a tad of an overreaction to be honest.

No worries fella - just a bit frustrating when I always see the normal speculation about Dubai when I know the on the ground reality. For some reason it's not letting me post a smilie, so 'thumbs up'!

Yeah I wasnt trying to say you were wrong or anything like that. I was more asking the question of with the expat community Dubai has, how comes there isnt more of a market boxing or combat sports out there? Got any kind of theory on that?

[Deserter]

Fairplay mate. I actually wasnt trying to question your knowledge, It was a genuine question. I think that was a tad of an overreaction to be honest.

No worries fella - just a bit frustrating when I always see the normal speculation about Dubai when I know the on the ground reality. For some reason it's not letting me post a smilie, so 'thumbs up'!

Yeah I wasnt trying to say you were wrong or anything like that. I was more asking the question of with the expat community Dubai has, how comes there isnt more of a market boxing or combat sports out there? Got any kind of theory on that?

It's pretty straightforward fella to be honest - the expat population here isn't even the size of a city like Bristol so you've already got that limitation. Then factor in that virtually all expats will be white collar professionals who are more inclined towards events based around rugby, golf etc, and you can see the potential fanbase is very limited compared to somewhere like the UK.

[lefty]

No worries fella - just a bit frustrating when I always see the normal speculation about Dubai when I know the on the ground reality. For some reason it's not letting me post a smilie, so 'thumbs up'!

Yeah I wasnt trying to say you were wrong or anything like that. I was more asking the question of with the expat community Dubai has, how comes there isnt more of a market boxing or combat sports out there? Got any kind of theory on that?

It's pretty straightforward fella to be honest - the expat population here isn't even the size of a city like Bristol so you've already got that limitation. Then factor in that virtually all expats will be white collar professionals who are more inclined towards events based around rugby, golf etc, and you can see the potential fanbase is very limited compared to somewhere like the UK.

Yeah admittedly when I thought about the expat community out there I didnt realise and thus factor in that it's actually not big in reality. What is the typical profession or industry of the expats out there then mate? Going along with the white collar theme I mean. Obviously I know there wont be one specific one you could name but what are the most common industries or professions/careers the expats have out there?

[sharpei_louis]

This approach reminds me of another Manchester lad and a Hennessy-promoted Ingle fighter.

Hatton & Witter.

Brodie v Hamed
Burke v Thaxton
Thompson v Nelson
Moore v Rhodes

All ended in the Manchester boxer being KO'd.

Hatton and Quigg happy to duck those pesky switch-hitters!

Brodie v Hamed?

Brodie v Hamed has any similarities with Hatton v Witter....??? News to me!

[Deserter]

Yeah admittedly when I thought about the expat community out there I didnt realise and thus factor in that it's actually not big in reality. What is the typical profession or industry of the expats out there then mate? Going along with the white collar theme I mean. Obviously I know there wont be one specific one you could name but what are the most common industries or professions/careers the expats have out there?

Huge diversity now fella - oil/gas, financial services, media, construction, real estate, education and aviation are probably the biggest.

[dbf]

There are regular Pinoy power shows in dubai but that plays to the large phillipino population. The UFC was in Abu dhabi but with that you are talking about a host of quality fights and the ufc brand and profile.

I think the dubai sports council are intrigued by boxing and have probably met with some promoters to try and arrange a big fight here. Not sure who there advisors are because surely if you wanted a significant event in the Middle East they could deal with the likes of Top Rank and matchroom to get a big name over. However isn't Galahad of Yemeni descent like Hamed was? That could be a Arabic angle.

I give up...

Give up? Is something I said not accurate?

[Deserter]

There are regular Pinoy power shows in dubai but that plays to the large phillipino population. The UFC was in Abu dhabi but with that you are talking about a host of quality fights and the ufc brand and profile.

I think the dubai sports council are intrigued by boxing and have probably met with some promoters to try and arrange a big fight here. Not sure who there advisors are because surely if you wanted a significant event in the Middle East they could deal with the likes of Top Rank and matchroom to get a big name over. However isn't Galahad of Yemeni descent like Hamed was? That could be a Arabic angle.

I give up...

Give up? Is something I said not accurate?

Without wishing to sound harsh, it's the normal mix of speculation and straw clutching that tends to indicate someone not really knowing how things here work:

1) To the best of my knowledge there's been just one Pinoy power show in Dubai rather than a series of regular shows and there were strong rumours of tickets being given away en masse to improve attendance figures (a common practice here). There is a significant Filipino expat population but their disposable income is virtually non-existent, so they have zero appeal to sponsors, advertisers, TV etc.
2) Even the latest UFC show in Abu Dhabi was well down in attendance numbers compared to the first one, predominantly down to a weak line-up (headliner was Roy Nelson versus Big Nog).
3) What basis do you have for your belief that DSC are "intrigued" by boxing and have "probably met" with promoters?
4) On a related note, it's highly unlikely that even if this were actually true, DSC would be the decision-making power for something like this - it would fall into the jurisdiction of the likes of the DTCM. The latter will develop and/or support events that tie into 'Brand Dubai's business objectives, particularly in terms of encouraging inbound tourism. The idea that thousands will fly in for a Galahad vs Quigg fight in the same way they do to attend the Dubai Rugby 7s is, of course, laughable.
5) Galahad is of Yemeni descent, but Yemen isn't part of the Gulf and without wishing to sound too crude, Yemenis therefore aren't held in quite the same esteem. Hamed was an anomaly due to his level of global success and because he was so explicit about his faith. By contrast, I've never witnessed the slightest bit of media interest in Galahad here.

The only boxer I'd give a chance of securing investment from Dubai in staging a fight here would be Amir Khan, but even that would constitute a long shot and would be motivated by a situation such as one of the ruling family having a personal interest in seeing it happen and being willing to fund it e.g. The Crown Prince is a keen skydiver, so recent years have seen Skydive Dubai develop, which is an amazing world-class facility, and world sky-diving championships have been staged here.

[The_Don1]

[/quote]
Without wishing to sound harsh, it's the normal mix of speculation and straw clutching that tends to indicate someone not really knowing how things here work:

1) To the best of my knowledge there's been just one Pinoy power show in Dubai rather than a series of regular shows and there were strong rumours of tickets being given away en masse to improve attendance figures (a common practice here). There is a significant Filipino expat population but their disposable income is virtually non-existent, so they have zero appeal to sponsors, advertisers, TV etc.
2) Even the latest UFC show in Abu Dhabi was well down in attendance numbers compared to the first one, predominantly down to a weak line-up (headliner was Roy Nelson versus Big Nog).
3) What basis do you have for your belief that DSC are "intrigued" by boxing and have "probably met" with promoters?
4) On a related note, it's highly unlikely that even if this were actually true, DSC would be the decision-making power for something like this - it would fall into the jurisdiction of the likes of the DTCM. The latter will develop and/or support events that tie into 'Brand Dubai's business objectives, particularly in terms of encouraging inbound tourism. The idea that thousands will fly in for a Galahad vs Quigg fight in the same way they do to attend the Dubai Rugby 7s is, of course, laughable.
5) Galahad is of Yemeni descent, but Yemen isn't part of the Gulf and without wishing to sound too crude, Yemenis therefore aren't held in quite the same esteem. Hamed was an anomaly due to his level of global success and because he was so explicit about his faith. By contrast, I've never witnessed the slightest bit of media interest in Galahad here.

The only boxer I'd give a chance of securing investment from Dubai in staging a fight here would be Amir Khan, but even that would constitute a long shot and would be motivated by a situation such as one of the ruling family having a personal interest in seeing it happen and being willing to fund it e.g. The Crown Prince is a keen skydiver, so recent years have seen Skydive Dubai develop, which is an amazing world-class facility, and world sky-diving championships have been staged here.[/quote]

Solid post, can't argue with that

[dbf]

[

Without wishing to sound harsh, it's the normal mix of speculation and straw clutching that tends to indicate someone not really knowing how things here work:

1) To the best of my knowledge there's been just one Pinoy power show in Dubai rather than a series of regular shows and there were strong rumours of tickets being given away en masse to improve attendance figures (a common practice here). There is a significant Filipino expat population but their disposable income is virtually non-existent, so they have zero appeal to sponsors, advertisers, TV etc.
2) Even the latest UFC show in Abu Dhabi was well down in attendance numbers compared to the first one, predominantly down to a weak line-up (headliner was Roy Nelson versus Big Nog).
3) What basis do you have for your belief that DSC are "intrigued" by boxing and have "probably met" with promoters?
4) On a related note, it's highly unlikely that even if this were actually true, DSC would be the decision-making power for something like this - it would fall into the jurisdiction of the likes of the DTCM. The latter will develop and/or support events that tie into 'Brand Dubai's business objectives, particularly in terms of encouraging inbound tourism. The idea that thousands will fly in for a Galahad vs Quigg fight in the same way they do to attend the Dubai Rugby 7s is, of course, laughable.
5) Galahad is of Yemeni descent, but Yemen isn't part of the Gulf and without wishing to sound too crude, Yemenis therefore aren't held in quite the same esteem. Hamed was an anomaly due to his level of global success and because he was so explicit about his faith. By contrast, I've never witnessed the slightest bit of media interest in Galahad here.

The only boxer I'd give a chance of securing investment from Dubai in staging a fight here would be Amir Khan, but even that would constitute a long shot and would be motivated by a situation such as one of the ruling family having a personal interest in seeing it happen and being willing to fund it e.g. The Crown Prince is a keen skydiver, so recent years have seen Skydive Dubai develop, which is an amazing world-class facility, and world sky-diving championships have been staged here.[/quote]


Fair enough on most points. I'm just going by what I've seen in Dubai. I know at least two British promoters who have had meetings in Abu Dhabi regarding staging an event there but I was tryng to suggest an explanation as to how this whole Hennessey show proposal came about. I was also demonstrating that there is obviously some interest in combat sports in the UAE, they also staged the GFC (I hadn't heard of it either) in Dubai before the summer and the winner got significant prize money.

I was saying about Galahad being of Yemeni descent again to demonstrate perhaps why Dubai had cropped up for a venue for his next fight, not because I believe he will draw any fans.

[Deserter]

[

Without wishing to sound harsh, it's the normal mix of speculation and straw clutching that tends to indicate someone not really knowing how things here work:

1) To the best of my knowledge there's been just one Pinoy power show in Dubai rather than a series of regular shows and there were strong rumours of tickets being given away en masse to improve attendance figures (a common practice here). There is a significant Filipino expat population but their disposable income is virtually non-existent, so they have zero appeal to sponsors, advertisers, TV etc.
2) Even the latest UFC show in Abu Dhabi was well down in attendance numbers compared to the first one, predominantly down to a weak line-up (headliner was Roy Nelson versus Big Nog).
3) What basis do you have for your belief that DSC are "intrigued" by boxing and have "probably met" with promoters?
4) On a related note, it's highly unlikely that even if this were actually true, DSC would be the decision-making power for something like this - it would fall into the jurisdiction of the likes of the DTCM. The latter will develop and/or support events that tie into 'Brand Dubai's business objectives, particularly in terms of encouraging inbound tourism. The idea that thousands will fly in for a Galahad vs Quigg fight in the same way they do to attend the Dubai Rugby 7s is, of course, laughable.
5) Galahad is of Yemeni descent, but Yemen isn't part of the Gulf and without wishing to sound too crude, Yemenis therefore aren't held in quite the same esteem. Hamed was an anomaly due to his level of global success and because he was so explicit about his faith. By contrast, I've never witnessed the slightest bit of media interest in Galahad here.

The only boxer I'd give a chance of securing investment from Dubai in staging a fight here would be Amir Khan, but even that would constitute a long shot and would be motivated by a situation such as one of the ruling family having a personal interest in seeing it happen and being willing to fund it e.g. The Crown Prince is a keen skydiver, so recent years have seen Skydive Dubai develop, which is an amazing world-class facility, and world sky-diving championships have been staged here.

Fair enough on most points. I'm just going by what I've seen in Dubai. I know at least two British promoters who have had meetings in Abu Dhabi regarding staging an event there but I was tryng to suggest an explanation as to how this whole Hennessey show proposal came about. I was also demonstrating that there is obviously some interest in combat sports in the UAE, they also staged the GFC (I hadn't heard of it either) in Dubai before the summer and the winner got significant prize money.

I was saying about Galahad being of Yemeni descent again to demonstrate perhaps why Dubai had cropped up for a venue for his next fight, not because I believe he will draw any fans.[/quote]
Yep, all fair enough fella. I think a large part of the problem is that overseas promoters follow the old 'streets are paved with gold' cliche about the UAE, but it's a far more complicated market than that, particularly these days.
There are a number of organisations that have tried to make things work here but in relative terms have failed e.g. One FC recently staged an event at DWTC and again free tickets were doing the rounds at all the gyms in the week running up to the show as they couldn't shift them.
Also worth noting that in terms of Glory Badr Hadri said after the show: "Something else. Glory Sports International, I go for that arab money, so next time don’t come with coins." That would imply that the prize money wasn't actually that good in reality.
Abu Dhabi is where the real money is to be frank - they could drop the kind of money needed to stage a significant world title fight and not even blink, but strategically it's not a great fit with their positioning - they can't compete with Dubai as the 'entertainment capital' so they've been focusing more on culture (Guggenheim, Louvre etc), so while it definitely could happen there, it's still a long shot relatively speaking. Still, this is the UAE, so anything could happen!

[lefty]

[

Without wishing to sound harsh, it's the normal mix of speculation and straw clutching that tends to indicate someone not really knowing how things here work:

1) To the best of my knowledge there's been just one Pinoy power show in Dubai rather than a series of regular shows and there were strong rumours of tickets being given away en masse to improve attendance figures (a common practice here). There is a significant Filipino expat population but their disposable income is virtually non-existent, so they have zero appeal to sponsors, advertisers, TV etc.
2) Even the latest UFC show in Abu Dhabi was well down in attendance numbers compared to the first one, predominantly down to a weak line-up (headliner was Roy Nelson versus Big Nog).
3) What basis do you have for your belief that DSC are "intrigued" by boxing and have "probably met" with promoters?
4) On a related note, it's highly unlikely that even if this were actually true, DSC would be the decision-making power for something like this - it would fall into the jurisdiction of the likes of the DTCM. The latter will develop and/or support events that tie into 'Brand Dubai's business objectives, particularly in terms of encouraging inbound tourism. The idea that thousands will fly in for a Galahad vs Quigg fight in the same way they do to attend the Dubai Rugby 7s is, of course, laughable.
5) Galahad is of Yemeni descent, but Yemen isn't part of the Gulf and without wishing to sound too crude, Yemenis therefore aren't held in quite the same esteem. Hamed was an anomaly due to his level of global success and because he was so explicit about his faith. By contrast, I've never witnessed the slightest bit of media interest in Galahad here.

The only boxer I'd give a chance of securing investment from Dubai in staging a fight here would be Amir Khan, but even that would constitute a long shot and would be motivated by a situation such as one of the ruling family having a personal interest in seeing it happen and being willing to fund it e.g. The Crown Prince is a keen skydiver, so recent years have seen Skydive Dubai develop, which is an amazing world-class facility, and world sky-diving championships have been staged here.

Fair enough on most points. I'm just going by what I've seen in Dubai. I know at least two British promoters who have had meetings in Abu Dhabi regarding staging an event there but I was tryng to suggest an explanation as to how this whole Hennessey show proposal came about. I was also demonstrating that there is obviously some interest in combat sports in the UAE, they also staged the GFC (I hadn't heard of it either) in Dubai before the summer and the winner got significant prize money.

I was saying about Galahad being of Yemeni descent again to demonstrate perhaps why Dubai had cropped up for a venue for his next fight, not because I believe he will draw any fans.

Yep, all fair enough fella. I think a large part of the problem is that overseas promoters follow the old 'streets are paved with gold' cliche about the UAE, but it's a far more complicated market than that, particularly these days.
There are a number of organisations that have tried to make things work here but in relative terms have failed e.g. One FC recently staged an event at DWTC and again free tickets were doing the rounds at all the gyms in the week running up to the show as they couldn't shift them.
Also worth noting that in terms of Glory Badr Hadri said after the show: "Something else. Glory Sports International, I go for that arab money, so next time don’t come with coins." That would imply that the prize money wasn't actually that good in reality.
Abu Dhabi is where the real money is to be frank - they could drop the kind of money needed to stage a significant world title fight and not even blink, but strategically it's not a great fit with their positioning - they can't compete with Dubai as the 'entertainment capital' so they've been focusing more on culture (Guggenheim, Louvre etc), so while it definitely could happen there, it's still a long shot relatively speaking. Still, this is the UAE, so anything could happen![/quote]
Who is it that owns a small percentage of the UFC? Is it the Abu Dhabi royal family? I remember it at the time but cant recall the particular players involved.

[Sklar]

Also worth noting that in terms of Glory Badr Hadri said after the show: "Something else. Glory Sports International, I go for that arab money, so next time don’t come with coins." That would imply that the prize money wasn't actually that good in reality.

LOL. You've got to love Badr.

[Deserter]

Who is it that owns a small percentage of the UFC? Is it the Abu Dhabi royal family? I remember it at the time but cant recall the particular players involved.

Yes, it's about 10%, which is owned through a quasi-govt company called Flash Entertainment.