Riyadh: For the first time in Saudi Arabia’s history, two female boxers will compete in a professional women’s boxing match on Saturday, August 20 at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Jeddah.
32-year-old British-Somali fighter Ramla Ali will face off against the Dominican Republic’s Crystal Garcia Nova, which will be held on the sidelines of the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship rematch ‘Rage on the Red Sea’.
She will be the first Muslim woman to enter the boxing ring in Saudi Arabia.
Ali has many feathers in her cap, including some of her most historic moments. Ali is the first Somali boxer to pursue a professional career, and she is also the first ever Somali boxer to compete at the Olympic level.
Ali is used to making history having become England’s first Muslim fighter to claim an amateur title in the country and she will etch her name into the record books alongside her opponent as they become the first females to fight professionally in Saudi Arabia.
She hopes the two will inspire Saudi women and girls to pursue boxing in a country that has only recently begun to allow women to compete in the sport.
Saudi girls have only been allowed to participate in physical education classes in schools since 2017 and were allowed to attend a football match for the first time in January 2018.
In January 2018, women’s national teams were created for the first time in a range of sports in the country. Since then, Saudi female athletes have collected more than 100 medals in regional and international events.
Saturday night, August 20, will see many historical moments awaited by people around the world, including boxers taking part in the secondary fight, the first women’s professional boxing match, and the much-anticipated fight, “Rage on the Red Sea.”
Ukrainian world champion Oleksandr Usyk defend his title against Britain’s Anthony Joshua in a fight billed as the “Rage on the Red Sea”.
It will also see the debut of the first-ever Saudi professional boxer, Ziad Al-Mayouf.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to the development of sports by hosting many international events in various sports with the aim of excellence in many games in participation and organization in line with the vision of the Kingdom 2030.
In recent years, the Kingdom has become the focus of the world’s attention by producing competitive sports at a high level, in addition to developing sports facilities and facilities to compete with its peers around the world.