Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh wants to do a big show at Wembley Stadium in September, causing speculation that he may be planning for the long-awaited mega-fight between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
A Gift for British Fans
Staging the Fury vs. Joshua mega-fight in the UK would make British boxing fans happy.
It would be a gift from His Excellency for him to give this to them rather than staging the clash in Saudi Arabia, which would be an obstacle for many less affluent people to make the expensive trek. Moreover, it wouldn’t make UK fans happy for the Fury vs. Joshua fight to be staged outside of the United Kingdom.
“I’m talking, thinking, and studying with Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn to do something huge in Wembley in September as a commercial for Riyadh Season,” said Turki Alalshikh, per Michael Benson.
With Fury showing signs of physical decline from his long career, Alalshikh must make the fight between him and Joshua as soon as possible because Tyson’s last fight against Francis Ngannou clearly showed that he’s not the same fighter that defeated Deontay Wilder in 2020.
Time is of the Essence
Alalshikh must realize that it’s important to make the fight between Fury and Joshua now before it’s too late. His Excellency has got to pull the trigger on that fight because Fury could lose to someone if he waits any longer.
The one thing that could make the Fury-Joshua fight in September difficult is Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) losing to IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th.
It would be pointless for Alalshikh to go through with the Fury vs. Joshua fight if Usyk beats Tyson, but you never know.
British fans would probably still be eager to see the fight, even with Fury limping into the AJ clashing coming off a loss, which would arguably be his second in a row if you count his fight against Francis Ngannou as a defeat, as many do.
Ideally, Alalshikh should cancel the Fury-Usyk fight for May 18th and go straight to the Joshua fight for Tyson in September. It’s too risky for Fury to fight Usyk now because the Ukrainian talent is performing at too high a level for him and is much too athletic.
Fury’s current fighting style involving mauling, wrestling, and roughhouse tactics won’t be effective against Usyk.