Dubai: Spanish world champion Maria Rodriguez made a futile attempt to defend herself against a barrage of hard punches by Tunisia’s Sarah Dabaieb and suffered a surprise TKO in the first ever Dubai Women’s Arab Boxing Championship at the Dubai Tennis Stadium on Friday December 19.
The lightweight bout (63kg) was one of six title fights that aimed to showcase world champions from Algeria, Germany, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Morocco and Spain.
However, Rodriguez was one of three champions together with Moroccan Samira Hamham and Germany’s Ella Grapperhaus who suffered spectacular defeats at an action-packed fight-night. Arab boxing is a full-contact combat sport that allows both punching and kicking,
Dabaieb, a 24-year-old with a 32-0 (26KOs) fight record, landed several knees to the body in the opening round, working Rodriguez’s midsection with accuracy. She continued this assault with the knees and fists in the second that clearly began to hurt the Spaniard who did not make the bell for the third round.
“This is a huge moment for me and for Tunisia,” Dabaieb, who also won a belt in Germany, said. “I was aware that she was an experienced fighter with around 40 fights, but I was well prepared and stuck to my fight plan which was to take the fight to her.
“I saw that I was hurting her and knew that I was in control of the fight by the second round.
“All the hard work has paid off and I want to dedicate this win to all women fighters in the Arab world.”
In one of the best bouts of the night, exciting Algerian fighter Sarah Kaddour (19-0, 7KOs) scored a popular unanimous decision victory over her Belgian challenger Voets Alex (19-0, 7KOs).
Kaddour was made to work hard by the courageous Belgian in an evenly matched 54kg contest over six, two-minute rounds.
The Algerian, who could pass off for a pop star, showed respect for Alex’s resilience as she employed a strong defence and vicious leg kicks that impressed the judges.
“I have trained very hard for this fight and it has paid off, as she was a very tough opponent,” Kaddour said. “It’s a big win for me and hopefully it will give me more confidence for the future.”
Croatia’s Malenica Marija (30-1, 17KOs) utilised her speed and accuracy to wear down Morocco’s Samira Hamham (34-2, 20 KOS) and capture the World Arab Boxing featherweight belt.
After six rounds of blistering action the judges had no hesitation in giving the fight to the Croat whose superior work rate proved a decisive factor.
India’s Erna Mannoesingh (33-2, 21KOs), a former kick-boxing champion who fights out of Holland, pounded out a unanimous decision over the unbeaten lightweight (60kg) champion Grapperhaus (36-0, 24KOs) from Germany.
Mannoesingh, who was returning to the ring after a two-year sabbatical, employed a fearless attack mode from the start, absorbing everything her opponent threw at her and connecting with a relentless flurry of strong punches to the head.
By the third round it was obvious that the rock-solid India fighter was ahead on the judges scorecards and her enthusiastic supporters rose to their feet cheering their hero when she was declared the winner.
Earlier in the opening fight of the night, a three-round contest for amateurs in the flyweight division, Emiriti Maitha Al Niyadi scored a popular win over Choueifat Schools’ Tarika Shivkumar from India.
The winner, who was making only her third appearance in the ring, received a standing ovation by the fans in attendance.
