“Per sources involved, there is a strong chance #JoshuaFury will indeed take place in the UK at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on Nov. 28. Capacity 80k+ & has retractable roof. Asked if Netflix was now OK with the move one source said, ‘I think they’re OK,” said Dan Rafael on X.
Netflix accepting Cardiff is the most important part of the report. The streaming service and the financiers behind the event had favored Madison Square Garden, which would provide a convenient US prime time broadcast.
Cardiff offers far greater ticket volume. Madison Square Garden would limit the crowd to roughly 20,000 and place more pressure on organizers to charge enormous prices. Principality Stadium can sell more than 75,000 tickets while delivering the domestic stadium atmosphere suited to an all-British heavyweight fight.
Joshua has already proven his drawing power there. Approximately 78,000 spectators attended his 2017 fight with Carlos Takam, while more than 70,000 tickets were sold for his 2018 unification bout against Joseph Parker.
The closing roof also makes a late November event practical and gives organizers more freedom with broadcast timing than an open-air stadium. Cardiff would still need approval for a proposed late finish, but the venue has a better chance of accommodating a post-midnight ring walk than Wembley.
That would allow Netflix to reach American viewers during evening hours without moving the fight to New York. The reported November 28 date also falls on Thanksgiving weekend in the United States, giving the platform a valuable holiday window when more subscribers may be available to watch.
Joshua’s contract called for the fight to take place in Britain, while Fury did not receive the same venue protection. Cardiff now looks like the compromise: Joshua keeps the event at home, Fury fights before a massive crowd, and Netflix gets a more favorable US broadcast slot.
The new date is one week later than the November 20 date previously discussed. Nothing is official yet, but Netflix approving Cardiff would remove the biggest obstacle blocking the British stadium plan.
Read the full article here
