Dubai: Emirati welterweight Eisa Al Dah returns to boxing after a three-year hiatus to fight Mexico’s Cesar Soriano at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Friday.
The 36-year-old ‘Arabian Warrior’ has attributed his lengthy layoff to developing business interests outside the ring in order to finance his boxing career, and he now promises to fight much more regularly.
“Now I have the budget to spend and do everything right, I don’t have to wait on sponsors to pay me as I can fund myself,” said Al Dah, who has eight wins in 10 career bouts since 2007, and is now relying on income from his newly opened EMD Fitness Gym in Jumeirah Three’s Sunset Mall.
“This is just the beginning, you can expect to see a fitter, faster, stronger Eisa, I’ve never had such a good team around me and I’ve never been training as hard as I am now.
“I’m going to keep myself busy and fight more often — every couple of months or so — to build towards my dream of fighting 12 round contests or even competing for a world title.”
First, Al Dah will have to convince in a six-round contest which is the headline event in Glory 20’s 11-card bout, against 37-year-old Soriano, who has a record of 24 wins in 55 contests since 1998.
Al Dah had originally been scheduled to fight England’s Kevin Hanks, but a knockout defeat in Hanks’ last fight has seen him ruled out of action for two months. “Soriano is a very good fighter, Mexican’s are typically strong and powerful and look for the knockout but they are also slow,” said Al Dah. “I have a plan to keep my distance and work him fast with the jab. It will be difficult to finish him, so I’ll be looking to nick it on points.”
Asked how long before we could see him fighting 12 rounds or even competing for a title, Al Dah, who claims he’s set to feature as an undercard in his friend Amir Khan’s next contest, replied: “If I keep myself busy, fight more regularly and gain more experience and confidence, fighting and training with bigger names, it could be within a year and a half to two years.
“I’m not too worried about my next fight, I’m looking for a big fight in the future and I’m building myself up for that.”
