Dubai: It had no pretensions to being a "Thrilla in Manila" or "Rumble in the Jungle", but when Muhammad Ali fought two exhibition bouts in Dubai during the early 1980s, it would inadvertently set the tone for the UAE’s consequential progression into the sporting capital of the Middle East.

The year was 1982, the venue Al Nasr Leisureland, where an improvised boxing ring was erected. Ali, who had only 12 months earlier lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Jamaica’s Trevor Berbick, the last man to fight him, was billed to fight three rounds each with James ‘Jimmy’ Ellis on December 3 and against West German heavyweight Reiner Hartmann two days later.

Rangi Akbar, who worked on the Gulf News sports desk, reported on both fights which he would describe as being the highlight of his career.

Ali (left) fights Jimmy Ellis at Abu Dhabi’s Shaikh Zayed Sports Stadium on December 1, 1982.

At 40, Ali was reportedly far from the boxer who had blasted out Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. But he still exhibited the ‘sweet science’ to beat both Ellis and Hartmann.

In his article that appeared on the back page of Gulf News, Akbar wrote: “There was no denying the admiration that Ali got from the crowd that was present at the stadium. After the bouts, he walked slowly towards the railings and fans were just content on kissing his hands. Nevertheless, one expected a much bigger attendance judging Ali’s worldwide popularity.”

Face to face with a hero

The fights were organised and promoted by Emirati Juma Ganem with ticket prices being a modest Dh30 to Dh200. Interestingly, this was not the first time that Ali, who is often described as the most beautiful boxer in a brutal sport, had been to the UAE.

In 1969, he would pass through the country on his way to Makkah and return several times more.

During one such visit, Saeed Ali Shaikh, a passionate sports writer with Gulf News, sneaked in to Dubai International Airport and managed to meet Ali, one of his heroes along with football great Pele.

“He was an imposing physical figure with a spiritual softness,” Saeed Ali said. “There was something so special, so different about him.”

Ali with Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nayhan, (right); Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (centre) and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi in this undated picture. Courtesy: @alameemi

Javed Nawab, a photographer with Gulf News since 1980, remember shooting pictures of Ali during a promotional press conference at the Dubai International Hotel, near the airport.

“Ali looked smart. He was wearing a suit and tie. But what struck me most was his humbleness,” recalls Nawab. “He was soft spoken and polite. Not like you would expect a world-class boxer, who beats up people for a living, to be like.

“He was funny and even performed a few magic tricks with his handkerchief. He had all of us mesmerised without overdoing it. I even remember him joking with our reporter Saeed Ali, who he said looked like a boxer, and that he was going to punch him. Then he laughed and shook hands with Saeed.”

Ali had left an indelible mark not just on the Emirates but the people who had the pleasure of meeting him.

A poster promoting Ali’s fight two days later with Ellis – on December 3, 1982 – at the Al Nasr Leisureland in Dubai.