Tag: Riyadh

Anthony Joshua could fight at Tottenham instead of occupied Wembley

Anthony Joshua’s next fight could take place in a new venue. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium officials have been keen on hosting the heavyweight.

If Anthony Joshua’s next fight takes place in his hometown of London, don’t expect it to take place at Wembley Stadium.

Promoter Eddie Hearn told The Independent that a scheduling conflict might prevent Joshua from fighting at the 90,000-seat venue, which has become the de facto home for the British heavyweight who regained his titles from Andy Ruiz Jr. this past Saturday in Saudi Arabia. Instead, Joshua and Co. might turn to another soccer stadium nearby.

“Wembley does not look great, date wise,” Hearn said. “Tottenham Hotspur is a nice new stadium for a U.K. fight and we have to look at it.”

The stadium, named for the popular soccer club, has a seating capacity of 62,000. It opened its doors in April.

“The phone has gone crazy with people saying ‘bring him here, bring him here,’” Hearn said.

Joshua is expected to face one of his mandatory challengers in Oleksandr Usyk or Kubrat Pulev.

Hearn said Joshua wants to fight back home after having traveled for both of his fights of 2019, a loss to Ruiz in New York and the victory in the Middle East.

“People have seen what we have just done in Saudi Arabia,” Hearn said, “and there are a lot of options internationally, but A.J. wants to box back in the U.K.”

Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua: No round card girls in Saudi Arabia

Promoters will not use round card girls for the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Anthony Joshua fight out of respect for the Saudi culture.

Those who watch the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Anthony Joshua rematch on DAZN will notice something different: no round card girls.

That boxing tradition, in which women hold up cards indicating the round that is coming up, has been scrapped by promoters out of respect for the culture of Saudi Arabia, where the heavyweight championship fight will take place on Dec. 7.

The Middle Eastern country requires women to be covered in public. Thus, scantily clad young women probably would not go over well.

The WWE, which held an event in Riyadh last month, had its women wrestlers wear modest clothing in the ring.

Women wrestlers dressed modestly during a WWE event in Saudi Arabia last month. Natalya is pictured here. Fayez Nureldine / AFP via Getty Images

“We need to be respectful of the cultures in the countries we perform in,” the WWE’s Stephanie McMahon said.

Ruiz (33-1, 22 knockouts) is scheduled to defend the titles he took from Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) in June. Ruiz, a big underdog, put Joshua down four times and stopped him in the seventh round in New York.

Ruiz-Joshua II: Construction of 15,000-seat arena well underway

The site of the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz rematch is coming along well, according to Eddie Hearn, who posted updates on his social media.

It appears the biggest rematch of the year will have a home.

When it was announced in September that Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz II would take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there was just one problem: An actual arena had to be built from scratch.

No biggie, it turns out. Promoter Eddie Hearn shared photos of the near-complete, 15,000-seat outdoor arena on his Instagram, adding, “haters said it wouldn’t be ready.”

Hearn’s decision to stage the fight in Saudi Arabia was not greeted universally with open arms. Many critics pointed out the country’s dreadful human rights record. But the site fee offered Saudi backers, reported to be at least $40 million, was too much to turn down.

Joshua recently traveled to Saudi Arabia and was given a tour of the construction site.

The rematch will stream live on DAZN.