Fans are likening Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua at a foreign venue for their heavyweight title to the greed of the European Super League.
This week, social media exploded when Saudi Arabia emerged as the solid favorite for hosting duties regarding the all-British undisputed clash.
This scenario is despite Joshua stating his preference to stage the fight in the United Kingdom. AJ wanted Wembley to host in late July or August.
Not so, according to the money men involved. Fury vs. Joshua is heading to Jeddah – if sources close to the talks ring true.
WBN broke the news of Joshua facing Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia back in 2019. The longer talks have continued to drag. The more prominent the venue became again.
Now, as fans come to terms with the fact an all-UK fight won’t take place at their perfect 90,000-seater stadium, the decision has been compared to the ESL breakaway by six Premier League Football Clubs.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur aim to join their league without possible relegation.
FURY vs. JOSHUA
The paying customer massively opposes the plans, similarly to taking Fury vs. Joshua off UK soil.
One fan said: “I am so done with sport! What on earth has happened?
“So much greed has ruined everything. We’ve got Youtubers boxing, European super league, and Joshua vs. Fury taking place in Saudi Arabia all in one year.
“The only way this changes (in the future) is if everybody boycotts these.”
EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE
Another stated that having the best fighting the best or the top clubs playing the top clubs every week would eventually become tiresome.
“Part of big football matches being amazing is they don’t happen often. Do you think boxing would have this kind of PPV money if Fury and Joshua were to fight every three months?
“People will be bored eventually. And even in Superleague, the top four or five clubs will have more money than others,” they said.
For now, this is the reality we live in. The Covid pandemic is partly to blame, but this could be a sign of times to follow.
Money talks. We all know this. When those kinds of sums are on offer, there’s not much the punters can do to stop it.
Will this time be any different?
Phil Jay is the Editor of WBN. An Auxiliary member of the Boxing Writers Association of America since 2018. And a member of the Sports Journalists’ Association. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
