'I want to be part of the change': Boxer Ramla Ali defends Saudi Arabia fight
Tap above to watch video report by Antoine Allen
London boxer Ramla Ali has said she hopes her historic fight in Saudi Arabia will help to grow women's professional boxing across the world, amid accusations she is supporting a "sportswashing" campaign to distract from the country's poor reputation for human rights.
The 32-year-old's bout with 22-year-old Dominican Crystal Garcia Nova in Jeddah on Saturday will mark Saudi Arabia's first professional boxing match between two women.
It comes ahead of the high-profile title rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk - and days after former Leeds University student Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison in the country for sharing critical posts on Twitter.
Ali, who is also a model and former Olympian, told ITV News' Antoine Allen "I want it to just be a norm. 'Women's boxing? Ah, we've got a whole card, we've got a whole card just for female bouts'.
"I'd love to see things like that."
However, Ali and Joshua have been accused of helping the country to distract from its dismal human rights record with "sportswashing", when a major sporting event is held in a bid to take attention away from widely-condemned practices.
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When it came to deciding whether to fight in the country, Ali said her decision was "easy".
"The fact that they have now chosen to put on a female fight - as the first - not only shows how progressive they're trying to be but, like how much they're pushing towards equality.
"Why won't I want to be a part of that change?"
Amnesty International Amnesty International said “there’s nothing even faintly progressive about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record."
“In recent years, Saudi women who have been brave enough to call for reforms in the country have been jailed, tortured and completely silenced," said Felix Jakens, head of priority campaigns at the human rights organisation.
Joshua told AFP he was "loving the positive side of things", adding: "I'm not on the internet researching, digging and digging and digging. I'm sure if you want to find that stuff out you have to dig."
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