The proposed heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will only be staged at Wembley Stadium if authorities approve a later-than-usual start time to suit the American television audience, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh has revealed.
Alalshikh, who is spearheading plans for the long-awaited all-British clash, said discussions would be held with the Mayor of London and other relevant officials to determine whether the event can take place in England while attracting maximum global viewership.
“I tell you from the beginning, it depends if England give us all that we need,” said Alalshikh on Monday.
“We want the fight here in England, but we want the time zone of all the world, especially in America.
“If they allowed us to have Wembley late in the night, we want to do it in England. It is about the time and viewership.
“We will talk with the mayors and Prince Abdullah (bin Khaled bin Sultan).”
To cater to prime-time audiences in the United States, the main event could be scheduled to begin as late as 4:00 a.m. GMT.
Such a late start would not be unprecedented in Britain. When UFC 304 was staged in Manchester in July 2024, the main card got underway at 1:00 a.m. BST to align with the U.S. broadcast schedule.
Meanwhile, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn recently dismissed suggestions that the contest could be moved to the United States, insisting the agreement signed by all parties specifies that the fight should take place in the United Kingdom.
“We’ve got a great relationship with Turki Alalshikh,” Hearn told BBC Sport.
“If he comes to me and says ‘I want to do the fight in America for this reason’, we’ll all be very disappointed because I don’t think there’s a person on the planet that doesn’t think this fight should take place in the UK.
“But he’s paying the bill and the bill is extortionate, so you’ve got to find a way to make it work. If they want to change anything in the contract, we have to renegotiate the contract and start again.”
Before any potential meeting later this year, both fighters are set to return to action later this month. Fury, 37, will face Poland’s Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand, on July 24, while Joshua, 36, takes on Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a day later.
