Joshua v Dubois promoter aims to surpass record Wembley crowd of 94,000
Promoters of the heavyweight world title fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium, which also features a performance by Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, are targeting a new British record attendance.
The show on 21 September has sold out of its initial allocation of 90,000 tickets but an application has now been made to local authorities to increase capacity.
If granted, Joshua-Dubois could eclipse Tyson Fury’s 2022 win over Dillian Whyte, which pulled in 94,000 to Wembley, making it the biggest fight ever in Britain and post-war Europe.
The blockbuster boxing card also features two more world title fights involving British fighters Josh Warrington and Joshua Buatsi and is being staged in association with Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season.
Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, 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.
“We hope to set a record for the largest attendance in boxing history at Wembley Stadium.”
Fury-Whyte also benefited from a successful application to increase capacity at Wembley from the British boxer’s promoter Frank Warren after 85,000 tickets were sold within three hours of going on sale.
Promoters of Joshua-Dubois announced on Friday that all general admission tickets for the show had been sold, with only platinum and hospitality options remaining.
It will see Joshua attempt to become world champion for a third time, while Dubois will be defending his IBF title for the first time.
The 26-year-old Londoner won the interim crown by beating Filip Hrgovic in June, after former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title.
Joshua, 34, has won four fights in a row since his consecutive defeats to Usyk in 2021 and 2022, most recently beating former MMA star Francis Ngannou in March.
Elsewhere on the card, Northern Ireland’s Anthony Cacace will defend his IBF super-featherweight title against two-time world champion Warrington, while Buatsi will face Scot Willy Hutchinson for the WBO interim light-heavyweight title.
Gallagher’s performance was announced before Oasis revealed they would be reforming next year for a world tour which is set to feature four dates at Wembley.
The biggest ever recorded attendance for a boxing show was the 135,132 who watched Tony Zale and Billy Pryor’s 1941 fight in Juneau Park, Milwaukee, although entry was free.