Mike Tyson: Dubai needs to host a world title fight — and it should feature Anthony Joshua

Mike Tyson has said the UAE “could become a main hub for boxing” if the country can attract Anthony Joshua to fight here, such has been the global impact of the heavyweight world champion’s recent success.

Mike Tyson addresses the media during a press conference to announce his Mike Tyson Academy fitness and boxing centres. Pawan Singh / The National
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Mike Tyson has said the UAE “could become a main hub for boxing” if the country can attract Anthony Joshua to fight here, such has been the global impact of the heavyweight world champion’s recent success.

Joshua saw his burgeoning reputation elevated to superstar status last Saturday night after his thrilling 11th-round stoppage of former world champion Wladimir Klitschko in London.

Although yet to be officially confirmed, pay-per-view figures are expected to smash the previous British record 1.5 million buys for the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao in May 2015.

The audience was not limited to the United Kingdom, with more than 10 million people in Germany tuning in, while close to 700,000 watched the fight in the United States, according to reports in the British media.

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Tyson, himself one of the most famous boxers in history, was involved in several high-profile, big-money PPV fights. In fact, four of the 10 highest-grossing fights in history starred the American.

Tyson was in Dubai on Thursday to announce plans for the Mike Tyson Academy, a franchise of fitness and boxing centres set to open around the world, including in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

He said the UAE is well positioned to attract major fights in the future, particularly if Joshua can be tempted to come to the Emirates.

“We have a new explosive heavyweight champion in Anthony Joshua, and that is exciting,” said Tyson, who holds the record as the youngest heavyweight world champion at the age of 20 years, four months and 22 days.

“To win the world title like that was a game changer for boxing. All the new guys who have been making a lot of money will know there is a new guy. That’s what is spectacular about him; he is the right man for this time.

“A world title has to be done in Dubai one day. Once it is done, and if that is Anthony Joshua, the UAE could become a main hub for boxing. It just has to be done once with the right person, and I believe the heavyweight champion is the right person to do that.”

Between the end of Tyson’s era at the turn of the century and the current landscape led by Joshua, the heavyweight division experienced a comparative slump.

Dominated by the Klitschko brothers, Wladamir and Vitali, boxing’s blue-riband division was devoid of excitement and struggled to capture a wider audience for more than a decade. That, according to Tyson, has now all changed with the arrival of Joshua.

“This one fight has changed boxing. The new heavyweight champion is so exciting right now, and the sport is about to change. The sky is the limit for him, and for boxing,” Tyson, 50, said.

“It is what fighting needs. Floyd [Mayweather] is making a lot of money and there are a lot of little guys fighting, but what everyone wants to see is the heavyweight fights.

“They want to see Joshua’s power and the damage he causes. That is what makes boxing big, it is the heavyweights.

“A lot of boxers are making a lot of money, but they are not making boxing big.

“I’ve had my turn and done my stuff, no way will I be coming back. It is their turn now.”

* The National staff with additional reporting from Nick Webster

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