Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The proposed heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will only take place at Wembley Stadium if local authorities agree to a later start time than usual, according to Turki Alalsikh.
The Saudi powerbroker, who is coordinating the all-British fight, said he would talk to the mayor of London and other stakeholders about staging the contest in England to accommodate a global television audience.
“I’ve been saying from the start, it depends on whether England gives us what we need,” Alalsikh said on Monday.
“We want the fight here in England, but we want time zones around the world, especially in America.
“If they allow us to do Wembley late at night, we want to do it in England. It’s about the timing and the audience.
“We will talk to the mayor and Crown Prince Abdullah (bin Khaled bin Sultan).”
If the fight is scheduled for a prime time audience in the United States, the main event may start as late as 04:00 GMT.
It would not be the first combat sports event in Britain to be scheduled around the American television market. When UFC 304 took place in Manchester in July 2024, the main card did not start until 01:00 BST.
Last month, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, who represents Joshua, dismissed speculation that the fight could take place in the US and said the current contract, signed by all parties, stipulated that the fight must take place in the UK.
“We have a great relationship with Turkey’s Alalsikhe,” Hearn told BBC Sport.
“If he comes to me and says ‘I want to fight in America for this reason’, we’ll all be very disappointed because I don’t think there’s a person on the planet who doesn’t think this fight should be in the UK.
“But he’s paying the bill and the bill is extortion, so you have to find a way to make it work. If they want to change something in the contract, we have to renegotiate the contract and start over.”
Later this month, Fury, 37, and Joshua, 36, will both return to the ring ahead of their possible meeting later in the year.
Former WBC heavyweight champion Fury will face Poland’s Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand on July 24, while two-time heavyweight champion Joshua will face Christian Prenga the following day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
