The mooted heavyweight clash is one of the most eagerly-anticipated fights in boxing
Fury and Joshua are set to finally meet in the ring
After months of speculation, one of the most eagerly-anticipated fights in British boxing is seemingly nearing closer, with Cardiff emerging as the frontrunner to host Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight bout with Tyson Fury later this year.
It was reported last week that the Principality Stadium is now the leading candidate to stage the fight, despite it previously being thought that the two former world heavyweight champions would instead settle their score at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
With Joshua’s contract stipulating that the fight must take place in the United Kingdom, the home of Welsh rugby is now seen as the likely battleground for the two British boxing stars. The fight is set to take place at the end of November or the start of December.
The chosen venue and date is yet to be confirmed, although a press conference has reportedly been organised for this week, with highly-respected boxing journalist Dan Rafael citing sources saying Netflix are expected to give the green light to the plan.
However, with the fight required to start at 2am UK time due to broadcast commitments, there is a process involving several local agencies – including Cardiff Council – that must be followed in order for a fight at the Principality Stadium to be greenlit.
Specifically, the stadium’s curfew must be extended to allow for a fight to take place at 2am. There is precedent for this happening at the stadium, with Joe Calzaghe famously taking on Mikkel Kessler there at the same time back in 2007.
According to its premises licence, the stadium is currently authorised to host a ‘boxing or wrestling entertainment’ event until midnight when the roof is open, or until 1am when the roof is closed.
In order to change this, the holder of the premises licence can apply to the licensing authority for a variation of the licence, and their application must be advertised for a period of no less than 28 consecutive days from the day after it was submitted.
Representations – either an objection or support – can be made by a responsible authority or by any other person at any time during that 28-day consultation period.
Where no relevant representations are received, the authority must grant the application, but if they are received, a hearing must be held to consider them. In Cardiff, this is determined by the Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee.
The Principality Stadium has emerged as the leading candidate to host the bout(Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
The authority may modify the conditions of the licence or reject the whole or part of the application, with either the applicant or a person who has made a representations able to appeal against that decision.
Exactly when the fight will take place remains to be seen. Originally, it was expected to be held in New York on Friday, November 20, although a date of Saturday, November 28 – through to the early hours of Sunday morning – has been discussed in regard to Cardiff. In recent days, however, Friday, December 4 and Friday, December 11 have emerged as later target dates.
The stadium will be in action for Wales’ autumn Nations Championship campaign up until Saturday, November 21 when they play Australia, with the tournament’s finals weekend taking place at Twickenham one week later.
WalesOnline understands that if the Joshua v Fury fight were to take place on November 28 rather than one of the December dates, there would still be just enough time for the pitch at the Principality Stadium to be transformed into a boxing venue following the Wallabies clash.
The developments come after fight promoter Dana White stormed out of a press conference as he admitted he was “f***ing tired” of talking about the proposed bout between Joshua and Fury.
White, who had earlier accused Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn of sabotaging the fight, was quizzed on the mooted bout after watching Conor Benn lose to Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas, and he snapped at reporters.
“We’ll see,” he said. “I’m not diving into that s*** show right now. Any other questions?
“I’m f***ing tired of it. I’m so f***ing tired of talking about it,” he added, moments before walking out. “I know what you want. I know what you want out of me. You’ll get it soon, I promise.”
Earlier, the 57-year-old had slammed Hearn for his handling of the fight, as he claimed: “I’ve never seen a guy who’s supposed to be a promoter hurt a fight more than this guy has.
“At the end of the day, whether I promote this fight or not, it doesn’t change anything in my life, but he’s hurting this fight. He’s hurting [Joshua], he’s hurting Fury, it’s the weirdest thing ever.”