| |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
'It's like coming home' Hamed makes Detroit the site of fight with Soto
Posted: Thursday October 14, 1999 06:52 PM
DETROIT (AP) -- The upcoming bout between WBO featherweight champion Prince Naseem Hamed and WBC titleholder Cesar Soto could be a boon for area businesses, thanks to the area's large Arab population. Hamed's fondness for metropolitan Detroit, with one of the largest Arab concentrations outside the Middle East, pushed him to stage the Oct. 22 bout at Joe Louis Arena instead of a more popular venue like Las Vegas. The British boxer's parents were born in Yemen. Local businesses will enjoy $4 million to $5 million in economic activity generated by the fight, including ticket sales, meals, hotel rooms and transportation, said David Littmann, chief economist for Comerica Bank in Detroit. There are an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people of Arab heritage in the area. Even as Hamed trains, he is scouting the region for a home. "I'd love to fight in New York or Las Vegas, but the opportunity to fight in front of my own people in Detroit will be an unbelievable event," Hamed told The Detroit News from his training camp in Pennsylvania. "It will be like coming home," he said. "I love all the Arab stores and restaurants, and my parents are very excited. My plan is to buy them a big home in the Detroit area. "We'd love to do more fights in Detroit, but well have to see how this fight goes." Detroit's last title fight was in 1987, a light heavyweight bout in which Thomas 'Hit Man' Hearns defeated Dennis Andries at Joe Louis.
| |||||||||||||||||
