Fury vs Joshua to make history with $34m in ticket sales

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua's heavyweight bout is poised to set a new record for ticket sales in British boxing history, with projections reaching $34 million (£26 million). The December 11th fight at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff is anticipated to generate nearly £150 million in revenue for both fighters. The decades-long rivalry between the British-Nigerian Joshua and Fury has reached a boiling point.

Roughly 80,000 tickets were snapped up within a mere hour, with prices spanning from £80 to £13,000 for premium seats. Over 500,000 people queued online for the remaining tickets, with fewer than 700 left to purchase. Zuffa Boxing's Dana White, involved personally alongside Turki Alalshikh rather than acting as an official promoter, announced the projected figures to Sky Sports.

He emphasized that the match could already be considered sold out, as he stated, "You can consider this thing a sellout already. We have this thing scaled for around $34 million." The Cardiff event would eclipse the British top three rankings, currently held by Fury and Joshua's other fights. Joshua's 2024 bout against Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium brought in £14 million, while Fury's victory over Dillian Whyte at the same venue generated £12 million.

Globally, the Cardiff fight will fall short of the all-time record. Floyd Mayweather's clash with Manny Pacquiao led with over $70 million, followed by Mayweather's 2017 fight against Conor McGregor at $55 million. Canelo Alvarez's bout with Terence Crawford in Las Vegas, also promoted by Dana White, made $47 million. Millions of viewers are expected to watch the Cardiff fight on Netflix.

This report is a result of two years of sports coverage by Peter for PUNCH, focusing on combat sports reporting, special features, and human-interest stories.