Anthony Joshua’s fight with Wladimir Klitschko will take place in front of a British post-War record crowd after London’s authorities agreed that a further 10,000 tickets could be sold.
The April bout for Anthony Joshua’s IBF title and the vacant WBA Super and IBO Heavyweight will now be watched by 90,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan agreed to a request for the capacity to be raised from promoter Eddie Hearn. The decision came after Network Rail agreed to temporarily postpone planned engineering works on the day, while Khan instructed Transport for London (TfL) to increase capacity on the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines.
Khan said: “I can’t wait to see the fight of the year here in London and it’s fantastic that a post-war record crowd will get to watch it at a world-class venue like Wembley.
“I’m delighted TfL and Network Rail have pulled out all the stops to make this happen so we can move 90,000 people around the capital quickly and safely. Like me, they have recognised the importance to the capital of staging this epic showdown of the best two fighters in the heavyweight division and I look forward to our great city staging more great fights in the future.”
With 80,000 tickets having already been sold, the new batch of tickets will go on sale via official vendor StubHub on February 1, priced from £40 ($50/€47) to £80.
The London showdown will break the post-War British record for attendance at a boxing match for the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves at Wembley in 2014. It equals the British record of 90,000 when Len Harvey fought Jock McAvoy at White City in London in 1939.
Hearn, managing director of Matchroom Sport, said: “I’m delighted that the capacity for Anthony Joshua vs Klitschko has been increased to 90,000 making it the biggest live gate of all time at the new Wembley stadium. I want to thank Wembley, TfL and Brent Council and particularly the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has fought our corner to ensure a capacity crowd will get the opportunity to watch this event live in the capital.
“At the boxing writers’ dinner last year, Sadiq urged me to bring the biggest fights possible to the city and I’m delighted to have the biggest fight in British boxing history at Wembley Stadium on April 29.”
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