Singapore, Next Possible Pugilistic Gathering Ground?

On 16th January 2010, Leon Moore defeated Marbun to claim the PABA Superbamtam Weight Title right here in Singapore. It was a sign of things to come. The organised bout saw a sold out crowd at the Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre, with an interesting mix of both the young, and the young at heart.

A young guy like me would've thought that the 'old farts' like the 50 year olds know nuts about professional boxing, (actually, neither do I haha). But it so turns out, that this little island of ours used to have quite a circle actually. My dad tells me that back when he was young, Gay World Amusement Park used to be the rage amongst young men. I know what you're thinking but no, my dad didn't see those days when peculiar young men would walk around in tight leather clothes and scream "fuuu" as and when they like. Besides, the term Gay never referred to homosexuality until recent days.

Gay world, as they used to call it, is a now demolished amusement park located somewhere between Geylang and Mountbatten Road. The place housed several interesting stuff, a wide variety at that too; Entertainment ranged from cabarets to even haunted house rides! Most importantly, Gay world housed the grandest indoor stadium in Singapore until the Singapore Indoor Stadium was built, and that's what made the day for most local young men. Regular boxing and wrestling matches would be on show for just 20-30cents per ticket. According to dad, that's about 60-70 bucks in the modern SGD context.

Of course, time had passed and things get old. Eventually the fights stopped happening, fighters stopped coming, even the amusement park had to stop existing...

The news of the PABA bout, made possible by Top Rated Intl Promotions, was music to my ears. With the upcoming Integrated Resorts and possibly tourist pour-in, there'd definitely be a place for regular boxing matches. Now, I'm not much of a boxing fan, personally I don't really follow the rankings and stuff. What excites me though, would be the fact that with a proper boxing culture set up in the lion city, we might see a day when other forms of martial sport are hosted. I'm talking about Muay Thai, I'm talking about MMA!

PRIDE has stopped airing, that's a sad fact for me. UFC just doesn't really cut it methinks, it's just different. If possible, I might even push for something of that sort right here in Singapore... Anything is possible :)