London's Mayor Sadiq Khan has signalled a willingness to change Wembley Stadium's 11pm curfew to allow Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua to fight in the capital, potentially keeping the blockbuster bout in the UK.
Fight Details and Warm-Up Bouts
The British heavyweights are scheduled to clash in November, provided they both win their respective warm-up fights later this month. Fury faces Mariusz Wach on July 24, while Joshua takes on Kristian Prenga the following evening. After those bouts, Fury is expected to travel from Thailand to Saudi Arabia for the face-off with his rival.
No venue has been confirmed for the November showdown, although the contract stipulates the fight must take place in the UK. However, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh insists the event must start at a time that suits a US audience, which could see the biggest fight in British history moved to Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
Curfew Negotiations
Alalshikh wants to hold talks with Mayor Khan over extending Wembley's current 11pm curfew. Fights in the Middle East are regularly held at 2am local time, and Alalshikh wants a similar schedule in London. A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: "London is the sporting capital of the world and the Mayor is working to bring more of the world’s biggest events to the city. 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."
The spokesperson added: "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."
