Hollywood producer to invest in traditional Nigerian boxing 'dambe'
Dambe is going global, thanks to a cash injection from Mauritius and, possibly, the United States.
Picture: Mikhail Nilov via pexels
Veteran journalist Crystal Orderson joins CapeTalk’s Clarence Ford for an overview of stories from the rest of Africa.
Listen below:
A Nigerian traditional boxing fighting league is attracting international investment.
Mauritius-based firm Silverback Holdings invested in Nigeria-based sports venture African Warriors Fighting Championship late last year.
Hollywood producer Sanford R. Climan, who produced Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, is joining Silverbacks as an advisory board member and plans to personally invest in the sport.
African Warriors Fighting Championship’s major product is dambe, a traditional form of boxing that originated in northern Nigeria.
RELATED: Xolisani Ndongeni on boxing in SA: ‘We don’t have a promoter willing to pay what we deserve’
Oderson says this sport is popular on YouTube and has amassed hundreds of millions of views across different platforms since 2019.
“Private equity firms are always looking for the next big thing, and the next big thing is dambe from northern Nigeria.”
- Crystal Orderson
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview for more.