Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is the biggest draw in boxing.
His past three fights alone — Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 at Wembley Stadium and his two bouts against Carlos Takam and Joseph Parker at Principality Stadium in October 2017 and March 2018, respectively — have drawn in excess of 250,000 people.
And in his next fight on Sept. 22, when he puts his WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line vs. Alexander Povetkin, airing exclusively in the United States on DAZN, another 90,000 people will be attendance at Wembley.
The knock on Joshua has been that he's never fought in the U.S., and that you never truly become a global star until you fight in the States.
MORE: Joshua planning for heavyweight 'legacy' |
To hold a Joshua bout in this country, the logical choices would be Madison Square Garden in New York, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas or Staples Center in Los Angeles. Joshua dismisses the notion that he doesn't want to compete in front of the American audience. He even has an ideal venue, which happens to be the biggest stadium in the NFL.
"Yea, definitely (fighting in U.S.)," Joshua tells Sporting News. "Texas, anywhere that people want to watch boxing, I’ll fight. It’s not just about being big in the UK. People will travel from all over the world to go watch a fight. As long as the stadium is big enough and there’s enough interest, I’ll fight anywhere. My dream would be to fight in Dallas (AT&T Stadium) because they got like 100,000 people that can watch it. And if big-time boxing is back, if we can do it in little, small England, and (sic) get 90-100,000 people out, we can do it out in America."
DAZN: There’s a new way to watch fight sports — find out more
Joshua's next two fights will take place at Wembley: Povetkin and then TBD on April 13, 2019. Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, recently told SN that the opponent they would like on the TBD date is WBC champ Deontay Wilder.
"I’ve booked that date there for Wilder," Joshua emphatically stated. "(Raises voice) I didn't book it for no one else. I didn't book that arena for no one else."
MORE: Win tickets to a major fight – find out how
From a boxing fan's perspective, the biggest fight in the sport to make is Joshua vs. Wilder. Holding the historic showdown to determine the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in almost 20 years deserves to be held in the biggest stadium in the U.S. One of the biggest issues in trying make it happen is money.
Wilder's told SN that he deserves a 50-50 split of the revenue. Hearn also told SN the fight won't happen if Wilder keeps insisting on such. When it comes down to it, the charasmatic champion from across the pond feels the Wilder bout will happen because there's no reason why it shouldn't.
"There’s enough in the pot for everyone to eat," Joshua said. "I’m here to make the fight. I’ve done it with greater champions than him. I’ve done it with champions; (Charles) Martin, (Joseph) Parker, (Wladimir) Klitschko and with world title challengers: Eric Molina, Carlos Takam, Povetkin. We’ve made fights with some of the best. He’ll get what he deserves, but he just needs to be realistic. But ultimately, the fans need to get what they deserve — and that’s a fight."
