Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) has indicated that they are in talks to host the highly-anticipated boxing event between UK heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in August, Construction Week, reported.
The CEO of the $20-billion gigaproject Diriyah Gate Jerry Inzerillo, who was speaking exclusively to Construction Week, remained tight-lipped on whether the venue for the boxing match had been officially confirmed, but alluded that “things looked very encouraging”.
“We are in talks to host the boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. We feel very good about it, but there are a few T’s to cross and a few I’s to dot,” said Inzerillo.
This comes as recent news regarding Fury being ordered to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time has raised doubts on whether his fight with Joshua will take place in August.
The fight between the pair was delayed because of coronavirus prompting Fury to seek an alternative but on Monday a US judge ruled in mediation that Wilder has a right to face Fury for a third time before 15 September. Now, new contracts will need to be signed for the bout to go ahead.
Diriyah Gate hosted its first boxing heavyweight championship between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019.
Recent speculations surrounding the sporting event have turned the spotlight on the kingdom after sporting experts around the world referred to Saudi Arabia being the host as the “worst kept secret” – although the exact location is still very much under wraps.
Saudi Arabia’s entertainment sector has been rapidly growing, with cinema construction, Formula-E competitions, and boxing matches slowly becoming commonplace in the country.
DGDA’s CEO Jerry Inzerillo
Commenting on the progress of sporting events in the kingdom, the DGDA CEO was full of praise for the Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports HRH Prince Abdulaziz.
“We are very blessed as we have an amazing Ministry of Sport that works daily with Diriyah. In my view, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports HRH Prince Abdulaziz is the best Minister of Sport in the world right now, especially in terms of how fast things are happening,” Inzerillo concluded.
According to the Council of Economic and Development Affair’s five-year review of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda, the number of companies operating in the entertainment sector has doubled, reaching more than 1,000 and generating more than 101,000 jobs by the end of 2020.
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