A boxing extravaganza organised by the Bahrain Boxing Federation (BBF) enthralled an audience of more than 300 people late into last night at the Dilmun Club.
The event, called ‘Domestic at the Dilmun’, is a BBF initiative designed to promote boxing in the kingdom and featured 20 bouts between boxers of all ages, ranging from schoolboys as young as 11 to adults in their 20s.
“You are in for a fabulous time, everyone!” roared MC Shannon Crockett as the event kicked off in earnest at 3pm with the opening bout between Nasser Alsalehi and Aseel Almutawa who fought in the 48kg school-boys category, with the latter prevailing by TKO.
A live band had earlier set the tone for the hours to follow. A captive audience sat at tables encircling the ring which stood at the centre of a makeshift boxing arena on the club’s tennis courts.
Small children frolicked in a special play-area as their parents focused their attention on the boxing action.
As the afternoon wore on, the quality of the boxing on display kept on improving as the bouts on the fight card were ticked off one by one.
A second schoolboys bout was followed by one in the ‘Junior’ category – meant for 15-16 year-olds – before four fights followed in the ‘Youth’ category, designated for 17-18 year-olds.
BBF president Omar Salman Al Slaise along with national team coach and the BBF’s technical development manager Tony Davis – who had organised the event and masterminded the transformation of the tennis courts into a boxing theatre – watched intently as boxers then started to compete in the ‘Elite’ category, meant for adults aged 19-40.
As evening fell and the audience became increasingly high-spirited, so, too, did the level of boxing appear to become even better as properly trained pugilists danced around the ring and traded strong blows in bout after bout.
And there were competitors from across the border as well, with Saudi boxers competing in different categories.
There was showmanship on display too with each boxer appearing to his own specially curated music.
And there was a variation to the competitive theme, as Crockett announced, with three young female Bahraini boxers stepping into the ring to demonstrate sparring.
Some of the loudest cheers in the early evening were heard for the only women competitors of the day, Jyoti Singh and Rosie Jessop, the lone female jockey in Bahrain, who made her boxing debut and put up valiant resistance before Singh triumphed.
“Did you all have a good time?” Crockett asked a cheerful audience after the final bout of the evening.
“Yes!” the spectators shouted in reply.
This was the second such event organised by the BBF and is intended to become a regular feature in Bahrain’s sporting calendar.
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