London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan is backing a bid for Wembley Stadium to stage the heavyweight super-fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua later this year.
However, Saudi financier Turki Alalshikh indicated earlier this week that a London fight, which is expected to take place in October or November, would have to start in the early hours to accommodate global television interests. To do so would require an exemption to Wembley’s current curfews which is 11pm for weekend events.
When Fury faced Dillian Whyte at the stadium in April 2022, the first bell was rung at 10.50pm – the latest a fight has started there to date.
”London is sporting capital of the world and the Mayor is working to bring more of the world’s biggest events to the city,” a spokesperson for the Mayor of London said.
“London has staged some of the biggest boxing events in recent history at Wembley Stadium, with record crowds of over 90,000 attending heavyweight contests including Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte.
“Sadiq has made clear that London would be the perfect place to stage the long-awaited bout between Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury and the Mayor stands ready to support ambitions to bring the event to our capital as we build a better London for everyone.”
In order to gain an exemption, Alalshikh would need to make an agreement with the London mayor’s office, as well as Brent Council, within whose jurisdiction the stadium sits, but Khan is clearly ready to rubber-stamp any such proposal.
Some sources have suggested the fight would have to start as late as four o’clock in the morning in the UK, making Las Vegas, which has shown an interest in staging the fight, the front-runner.
Nevertheless Alalshikh said earlier this week: “We want the fights here in England, but we want the time zone and the time zone of all the world, especially in America.”
Responding to a Sky Sports story that ringwalks might not take place until 1am, Alalshikh posted “2am” on his social media account.
Before the fight is announced, both men must come through comeback fights this month. Fury faces Mariusz Wach in Thailand on July 24, and Joshua fights Kristian Prenga in Jeddah the following night.
