Twenty-eight-year-old British heavyweight sensation Anthony Joshua has signed a two-fight deal to compete at Wembley Stadium, also known as the “National Stadium” on September 22nd, 2018 and April 13th, 2019. The move solidifies Joshua’s regional fighting locations for the foreseeable future and confirms he and promoter Eddie Hearn’s insistence on elevating the British boxing scene.
“Being north London born and raised, it is in my blood. Wembley just added a fourth lion to the den,” said Joshua to the BBC network.
ANTHONY JOSHUA || GREATEST HITS
Anthony Joshua Career Highlights Vk Group – http://vk.com/boxingmmahl https://www.facebook.com/boxingmmaHL Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmhPgAWfI1o No copyright infringement intended. Video will be removed if requested by the copyright owner.
Although his opponent for September 22nd will be confirmed next week it is expected to be Russia’s Alexander Povetkin, the WBA’s mandatory challenger. The world collectively sighed when negotiations for a Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua fight fell through as the heavyweight division has gained much steam. The WBC world champion Deontay Wilder has the last of all four world heavyweight belts that Joshua would need to unify the entire division.
The WBA, IBF and WBO champion beat Wladimir Klitschko there in April 2017 and has fought twice at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium where he scored a stoppage win over Carlos Takam in October and added the WBO belt to his collection by out-pointing Joseph Parker in March.
With 90,000 seats available, Wembley is truly a statement-making move, but all Hearn and Joshua have been doing are making moves that have changed the face of the sport. Hearn hopes to surpass 90,000 for the April fight, which would better the British record for a boxing match held jointly by the Joshua-Klitschko bout and Len Harvey vs. Jock McAvoy at White City Stadium in 1939.
ANTHONY JOSHUA || GREATEST HITS
Anthony Joshua Career Highlights Vk Group – http://vk.com/boxingmmahl https://www.facebook.com/boxingmmaHL Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmhPgAWfI1o No copyright infringement intended. Video will be removed if requested by the copyright owner.
“Capacity for Anthony Joshua’s next fight on 22 September will be at 90,000 – we are expecting the 13 April capacity to be extended to over 100,000,” Hearn tweeted.
“I don’t think anyone will forget that night of 29 April against Klitschko and we plan to bring two more dramatic events to Wembley Stadium. Images from these AJ events make our country the envy of the boxing world and long may it continue.”
If Joshua gets past Povetkin, then the venue for a fight with Wilder in April is set in stone. One of the points of contention for Wilder was his want to have the fight in the States with many looking at Las Vegas as the perfect place for the big fight. The move confirms that Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are in control of the negotiations and puts Wilder in a bad place in 2019.
