Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will meet in Cardiff on December 11, with more than 80,000 tickets going on sale on Friday. The cheapest seats, high in the stands, will cost £75, while prices for seats closer to the ring have not yet been released. VIP tickets are expected to cost well over £1,000.
Fury predicts a classic
Fury insists the grudge match is perfectly timed, predicting a classic to rival the ‘Thrilla in Manila’. Previous attempts to match the UK’s pre-eminent heavyweights have repeatedly fallen through, but Fury rejects the widely-held belief the bout has arrived too late.
Instead, he invoked the thrilling third meeting between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975 as inspiration to deliver a spectacular night in the Welsh capital.
Fury’s verbal onslaught
“I don’t regret anything because it’s finally happening,” Fury said. “It probably makes more financial sense now and that’s what we’re in this sport for.
“It’s more money than it ever was before, plus the fact we’ve got the broadcasting giant Netflix streaming it and (Saudi Arabian boxing supremo) Turki Alalshikh has got an open chequebook.
“There’s never been a better time to be the don of the division. And the fact it’s happening in Cardiff – even better.
“You got Ali v Joe later on in their careers – it was a great fight and I believe this will be a great fight, too. I believe it will be one of the biggest fights the world’s ever seen and it’ll live up to all the expectations.”
Outside the respectful tone struck at Wednesday’s launch presser, when he offered to share a pint of Guinness with Joshua after they had finished in the ring, Fury has been directing a verbal onslaught at his 36-year-old foe.
Fury’s criticism of Joshua
“I don’t know him as a man,” the ‘Gypsy King’ said. “I only know him as the fake facade we see on TV or when he’s doing interviews. I don’t know anything about him at all behind the mask. Sometimes that slips now and again, but I don’t know him as an individual, I don’t know him at all.
“For me, he was never any good. He would never beat me in a million years in any time. When I hit him with that right hand, he’s going to feel the full force of it, he’s going to fall over in a heap. Before the bell goes, he’ll be looking for a landing position on the floor somewhere.
“If he didn’t fight me, who would he fight next? He just got knocked down twice by Kristian Prenga, whoever the f*** he is. What happens if he fights a live opponent? Someone who’s not hand-picked and selected – a bum – to knock over? I don’t know anyone he could beat and he definitely ain’t beating me – that’s for sure!”
