Anthony Joshua’s upcoming IBF heavyweight title fight with Daniel Dubois could break the boxing attendance record in Great Britain.
The British pair are set to do battle at Wembley Stadium on September 21 after the fight was announced back in June.
It was revealed by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh last week that the all-British title bout had sold out the National Stadium.
However, the Saudi advisor has now stated that an application to extend the capacity of the event has now been submitted.
Alalshikh is seeking to make history, and wrote on X: ‘We hope to set a record for the largest attendance in boxing history at Wembley Stadium’.
The British boxing attendance record currently stands at 94,000 spectators, which was set at the heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte in 2021, at Wembley.
Joshua has fought in front of mammoth crowds before at the National Stadium as he beat Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 people, which was the previous record.
His bout with Dubois was seemingly meant to bring in the same number of fans before Alalshikh made his announcement on social media.
In the statement, His Excellency said: ‘Due to high tickets demand, we’ve requested to extend the capacity at Wembley Stadium for the highly anticipated bout between Joshua and Dubois at Riyadh Season Card Wembley Edition.’
The highly-anticipated event, headlined by Joshua and Dubois, was scheduled after Oleksandr Usyk confirmed he was vacating the world title, following his win over Fury.
It was announced that the showcase will feature a three-song performance from Liam Gallagher before Oasis confirmed that he will reunite with brother Noel for a comeback tour next year.
Joshua is aiming to become a three-time world champion and leading up to the fight he has changed his approach.
Back in June, he nearly came to blows with Dubois as they attempted to sell the fight, with both fighters saying they were ready to ‘go now’.
‘Honestly, speaking from the bottom of my heart, beside it being belts, and beside it being him, I’m just ready to fight,’ said Joshua.
After the altercation, he continued: ‘Daniel don’t disrespect me or I’ll put this f***ing chair through your face.
‘Warn this little boy not to disrespect me. I don’t take disrespect lightly you know. Don’t sit on the table telling me we can go now, telling me this and that.’
Promoter Frank Warren was also in the room during the incident and stated that the feud between the two fighters was not a fabrication.
‘This was serious. We don’t need any stunts to sell this fight,’ Warren said before foreseeing the sell-out crowd they would pull in.
‘Wembley Stadium will be sold out in no time. Who won’t want to see two British giants with massive punching power go at each other? It’s what heavyweight boxing is all about.
‘Daniel is really up for this fight already. And the big pressure is on Joshua at this later stage of his career.’
