Junior bantamweight prospect Sultan Al Nuaimi will face power-punching Venezuelan Eliu Canario on the Rising Stars 3 event in a scheduled 10-round contest at the Yas Links Golf Course, Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.

The unbeaten 30-year-old is in no doubt as to the size of the task in front of him and acknowledges what his opponent brings to this fight.

“Eliu Canario is dangerous, he is a hard-punching fighter,” Al Nuaimi (10-0, 6 knockouts) told The Ring. “I think it will be a fight that the crowd will love to see on March 2.

“Of course, I believe that I have the ability to end up being victorious.”

Al Nuaimi also appreciates the chance to fight on such an illustrious card in Saudi Arabia.

“It is a great opportunity for me to showcase my skills in such an event like Rising Stars 3,” he said proudly. “I believe this platform will help to start pushing my career to the next level.”

Al Nuaimi, who hails from the UAE, didn’t enter boxing until a little later than most but after he did he found a new passion.

“My story started as a kid loving to play video games for long hours, the active lifestyle wasn’t something that I liked,” he admitted.

“My friend got me into the gym when I was 24 years old for Cardio and then i saw people boxing and wanted to try it.. I started by joining beginners boxing and now I’m a professional fighter.”

He began his journey in November 2019 with a first round knockout win. Covid impacted his early career but he kept chipping away and last time out scored his best win to date when he bested experienced Jemsi Kibazange (UD 10).

AAM Seddiqi Sports Founder, Ahmed A. Seddiqi, who will promote the event, recognizes one of his rising stars potential.

“Sultan is one of the most talented fighters in the Middle East,” said Seddiqi. “I expect him over the next two-years to keep on growing as long as we put him in the right fights and the correct matchmaking.

“There is not a single fighter in the region with his experience. We have built him up quite nicely. He has speed, strength, he’s got the heart. Twice he has fought with a broken hand. He doesn’t give up. I think he has a bright future. We like to take things slow like we have been and when the time is right one day we hope to see him fight for a world title and hopefully see him as a world champion from the middle east and north African.”

It’s still early days in cultivating boxing in the middle east but Seddiqi is in it for the long haul.

“It’s been two great successful events and we’re looking forward to the third one and keep on growing,” said Seddiqi. “We’ve been a lot of talent coming out from the whole region.

“We are expecting to see them rising up in the rankings in the next 3-to-5 years and should shake up the scene in boxing. People from this part of the world have a lot of heart, a lot of strength and a lot of power and commitment. We are looking forward to for this region and for fighters from this region to come on the world stage. In a couple of years people will be talking about these fighters.”

Belmehdi-Lamptey, plus undercard bouts, will be broadcast on Abu Dhabi Sports TV at 8:00 p.m. local time and streamed on ESPN Knockout as well as DAZN at 11:00 a.m. ET/ 8:00 a.m. PT.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].

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