FRANK WARREN: I’ve heard all the bulls*** about Saudis and boxing this week. Here’s why we should celebrate them, not boo them

Much has been said and written about Saudi Arabia’s national anthem being played at Wembley before Saturday night’s big fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

Most of it was nonsense. It is total bull**** to claim that the Saudi national anthem was featured prominently in our national stadium.

It’s always been the case that the host country’s national anthem comes second – and that’s exactly what happened last weekend, so I don’t see why anyone would worry about the Saudis finishing first.

Back in the day, if you went to a fight promoted by Don King, he would play the American national anthem, regardless of whether American fighters were involved. When Ricky Hatton fought Manny Pacquaio in Las Vegas, they played the British national anthem, followed by the Philippine national anthem and then the American one.

This is nothing new, so I don’t understand why it has suddenly become a problem. What, because it’s the Saudis? Why, what’s the big deal with them?

People wouldn’t have attended the battle if they really had a problem with Saudi investments. In the lead up to the battle, events promoting the battle took place in iconic London locations such as the Guildhall and Trafalgar Square. Were there protests? No. Was there one banner? No. I drive around London every day and see people protesting about something or other, but I didn’t see any prior to the fight so the whole argument is total nonsense.

And contrary to what some have suggested, there was no mass cheering when the Saudi national anthem was played. Yeah, there were very few people who did that, but I’ve been at fights where the ‘away’ fighter’s anthem was actually booed and it’s embarrassing. That’s why I don’t like playing anthems in case that happens, but it didn’t happen in large numbers at Wembley.

Instead of worrying about that, we should be celebrating the fact that we saw a historic event at Wembley, with two British boxers. And we must remember that this only happened thanks to investments from another country that wants to see the sport flourish and has taken it into their hearts to say that this is the best country to invest in because it has the most passionate, patriotic supporters has.

That’s why they stand behind British boxing and that’s what they’ve done.

Who else cares about it other than Simon Jordan who wrote about this topic earlier this week?

For Simon the whole spectacle was negative for boxing, but I don’t understand that. Okay, so someone with an agenda will point out a few boos because it fits their narrative, but that wasn’t that important that night and if anyone claims it was, they’re a liar.

Instead of being so narrow-minded, why don’t the naysayers open their eyes and embrace other people’s cultures, like the Saudis are trying to embrace our culture by inviting us to bring our Western sports to their country?

They have started getting younger people and girls into the gyms in Saudi Arabia. The first women’s title fight is coming in Saudi Arabia – who would have thought that a year or two ago? That’s what really happens.

And instead of focusing on the fact that the Saudi national anthem was played, look at all the positives. Hotels and restaurants around Wembley enjoyed huge sales. During the entire week leading up to the fight, several million pounds were generated by this event. How can that be bad for our economy, our country and our sport? We had huge entertainment and an incredible show for British fight fans. Therefore, it is petty and vindictive to make the national anthem the subject and ignore all the positive points.

The fight was a small part of the Riyadh season, a cultural event featuring various sports, music, dance and poetry from across the Middle East, the Far East and the West. It brings all these experiences to a very young population in Saudi Arabia, where about 75 percent are under the age of 35 and are the biggest users of social media.

They have a budget that is not about boxing, but about promoting the Riyadh season, promoting Saudi Arabia and the capital and organizing major events there for their people.

So yes, Riyadh Season was defaced all over Wembley, but that’s life, that’s globalization and that won’t change. That is where we stand today and it is a fact that the battle would not have happened without the involvement of Saudi Arabia.

I also don’t understand the argument that it’s a problem where the money comes from. There is no one more patriotic than me, but it would be ridiculous if the sport didn’t accept money from other cultures. Boxing is global and, like football, money is invested in it from all over the world. Just like with rugby, tennis and golf.

If you ask Chelsea fans whether they would rather go back to the days of Ken Bates or the era of Roman Abramovich, I think we all know the answer. The same goes for Manchester City: would their fans want the previous owners or the current owners?

Haven’t they improved the Premier League and helped make it the best in the world? Of course they have. Not only have they done that, they have also invested in Britain – isn’t that a good thing?

Simon claims that embracing the Saudis has taken something away from the fabric of boxing. You ask the 98,000 at Wembley if they had a good time and if they enjoyed it? Ask the boxers on the undercard who would never have been there without Saudi investment.

Were they paid well? Did they get the biggest wallets possible? Yes, they did. Did we make money? Yes of course, we are professional promoters, this is what we do for a living.

Would Simon have taken Saudi money when Crystal Palace was on its knees under his ownership? Of course he would, and not only would he have taken it, he would have dyed his hair green!

I don’t think many share his views on the money behind the fight damaging the fabric of boxing or the fact that the Saudi national anthem was played at Wembley. This was an amazing event, watched by millions of people and everyone who came up to me after the fight said how entertained they were.

Boxing, like everything, evolves and progresses. If you have blinders on all the time you won’t get anywhere because the fact is that the contribution of the Riyadh season to British boxing has been fantastic.

Just ask Tyson Fury, Joshua or Dubois – and most importantly, ask the fans.