By Omar Al Raisi

The AIBA World Boxing Championships 2015 in Doha, Qatar was a great success; with reportedly 500 million TV viewers from across the world tuning in, with sold out venues for the semi-final and final marquee events. Qatar’s ability to stage world class sporting events is immense.

To add an extra layer of gloss to this colossal achievement, the event was supported by the appearance of 8-division former world champion, the Filipino great Manny Pacquiao, two time world champion and former Olympic silver medalist, the British-Pakistani Amir Khan and the current world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitchko.

Their presence at the championship in Doha inspired the up and coming, hungry boxers to believe in their dreams in the sport of boxing, while also delivering invaluable public relation value for the city of Doha, AIBA World Champions and the sport of boxing in the Middle East.

At the championship, 258 boxers from 74 countries participated, with a dream to be at the finals of the competition, at state-of-the-art Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena. The ultimate dream? To win the gold medal and qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Hosting the AIBA World Boxing Championships was an intelligent strategy by Qatar Boxing Federation and Olympic Committee to inspire the youths and lay down the foundations in this region, moving forward.

But what does this mean for the future of the sport of boxing in Doha and the Middle East; especially it’s long term sustainability?

Lack of professional boxing clubs with world-class coaches in the region was and still is a major concern. In contrast, there are currently over 900 boxing clubs in England, where boxing is the fastest growing sport.

Boxing clubs are the foundation of the sport; the projects should have sustainable effects not necessarily sustainable mechanisms. Supporting local communities, schools and promoting equitable partnerships.

Boxing is still at it’s infancy stages in the Middle East, many promoters have unsuccessfully tried, the IBO Middle East was set up couple of years ago, lifting hopes of many fighters in the region as a perfect platform to develop boxing, but they have not organized nor commissioned any youth structure, community conventions or events for the region.

In a meeting with the President of World Boxing Council (WBC), Mauricio Suleiman, in Las Vegas during the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in May, he advised me that, developing boxing in the Middle East and Asia is one of their aims and they would be visiting the region to set up conventions for the community.

But so far, the World Boxing Council has arranged no such initiatives. Perhaps in the near future that would change, for the benefit of boxing.

In the past few weeks, a bout between Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan was being negotiated to be staged in the Middle East, specifically in Dubai or Doha. But so far, neither Dubai nor Doha has made any offers to stage the fight.

But would staging a world title bout with two of the biggest boxers in the world, be a ‘short-cut’ catalyst to jump-start the sport of Boxing in Doha and Dubai? Many believe so, but the fact that any boxing promoter is yet to stage a big title bout in the Middle East shows that, perhaps the mechanics of the sport is not sustainable for this region.

The boxing promoters, who rely on the TV network’s broadcasting and sponsors income, to be able to pay the fighters purses, run the sport of boxing. The TV networks in the Middle East do not pay a fee to the promoters for the broadcast rights, and locking down sponsors is a real struggle for the promoters, who perceive boxing as “violence” rather than competition. Gate revenue has been a disappointment in many previous boxing and MMA events in the Middle East as well.

Which raises question marks on the sustainability and the future of the sport of boxing in the Middle East.