Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua has ‘no chance’ of taking place at Wembley | Boxing | Sport

Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua has 'no chance' of taking place at Wembley | Boxing | Sport


Sports finance expert Dr Rob Wilson thinks it is very unlikely that a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will take place at Wembley Stadium. The boxing world has been clamouring for the two heavyweights to face one another for some time, but for the UK, money could speak louder than passion from fans.

Following AJ’s emphatic victory over Francis Ngannou, he is back in world title contention, and should Fury defeat Oleksandr Usyk and unify the division’s belts, the British pair would be on a collision course once again. Should it come to fruition, Dr Wilson, who is also a professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, says that the financial lure of staging it in Saudi Arabia or the US may be too great to turn down.

“Sadly for British fans, Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua has Saudi Arabia or Las Vegas written all over it,” he said. “Even if it was 10 years ago that fight would probably not be happening in the UK, it will go to a much bigger market that can get driven by PPV.

“Saudi is now just battling with Las Vegas for the chance to stage the fight and get the PPV money for the top boxers in the world. You have to remember that in the UK we pay £25 for big PPV events and in the United States they wouldn’t mind paying $100 (£80).”

The biggest boxing fights are becoming more difficult for the UK to host since the emergence of Saudi Arabia. Their influence across sports as a whole continues to grow, despite facing criticism regarding their conservative views.

Fury’s promoter Frank Warren expressed his desire to have the potential fight in the UK, but even he admitted it is likely to take place away from British shores. “I’ve got to be honest, I think that is where it will go,” Warren said about the fight being hosted in the Middle East. “Of course, I’d like them in the UK.

“I look back when I was younger – all those many, many, many years ago – I look at all those really great fighters like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, where did they put their big fight on? The Rumble in the Jungle [in what was then Zaire]. Where did George Foreman fight Frazier? In Jamaica. The Thriller in Manila. That’s what happens. Because they went where the money is. Those fights I mentioned took place in places you’d never dream of boxing taking place.”

On the other hand, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn claimed the boxers could fight each other twice, with one bout to take place at Wembley. However, he did say that some hurdles would need to be overcome before that could become a reality. “This is a gentleman called Turki Al-Sheikh, who is obviously a very influential figure in sports and entertainment in Saudi Arabia,” Hearn said on The Sports Agents podcast.

“He’s also the biggest fight fan I’ve ever met. And quite amazingly, he’s now talking about staging two Fury vs. AJ fights: One in Saudi Arabia and one at Wembley Stadium.” He added: “He’s one of those guys that listens and reads everything. So he’s definitely ready about, ‘I wish this fight was at Wembley,’ or ‘It’s a shame the fight is in Saudi Arabia.’

“I mean, we really must have more of a global vision in sport, boxing doesn’t just sit here but two Brits, fighting for the undisputed world championship, I think he would probably bring one of them to the UK, I really do. And that financially, they’ve got the ability to do that.”



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