Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois’ highly anticipated IBF world heavyweight title clash, scheduled for Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, is set to break the post-war record for the largest crowd at a boxing event in the United Kingdom.
Organisers have confirmed that an astounding 96,000 tickets have been sold, marking a historic moment for British boxing.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday that tickets for the fight are no longer available.
He wrote, “It’s the record; it’s 96,000, I think, at a time that British boxing needs a shot in the arm.” Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, echoed this sentiment during a news conference, adding, “We’re all very proud of the way he [Joshua] has carried himself since the Olympic gold medal.”
This massive turnout will surpass the previous post-war record of 94,000, set in April 2022 when former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury successfully defended his title against Dillian Whyte, also at Wembley Stadium. In another memorable night for Joshua, his thrilling 11th-round stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 drew a crowd of 90,000 at the same venue, where Joshua defended his WBA, IBF, and WBO titles.
Joshua’s ability to draw huge crowds has been consistent throughout his career. In 2018, 78,000 spectators witnessed his knockout of Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, he drew an equal number of fans to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in Wales for his victory over Joseph Parker.
Other British boxers have also attracted large audiences in recent decades. Carl Froch and George Groves attracted 80,000 fans to Wembley in 2014 for their super middleweight rematch, where Froch scored a dramatic knockout. British boxing legends like Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe also drew significant crowds to outdoor stadiums during their careers.
Historically, large boxing audiences were not uncommon in the UK before World War II. One of the most notable was on 10 July 1939, when 90,000 fans gathered at White City Stadium in London to witness Len Harvey defend his British light-heavyweight title against Jock McAvoy. This bout provided a brief distraction for the British public as the onset of World War II loomed.
While Joshua and Dubois are set to make history in the UK, boxing crowds have reached even larger numbers abroad. In the United States, a record 120,557 fans attended the 1926 heavyweight contest between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney at Philadelphia’s Sesquicentennial Stadium. That record stood for nearly 67 years until a staggering 132,247 fans packed Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium in 1993 to watch Julio Cesar Chavez face Greg Haugen, setting a new global attendance record for a paid crowd.
As the British boxing scene gears up for this historic night, the clash between Joshua and Dubois promises to be a spectacle not just for its sporting significance but for the record-breaking crowd it will attract to Wembley.
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