ANTHONY JOSHUA will return to the ring this September for a showdown with former cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk.
AJ will throw down with his fellow Olympic gold medallist on September 25 in front of a capacity crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua’s first and likely only outing of the year is expected to take place in front of 60,000 boxing fans.
And with that huge crowd in mind, SunSport thought it’d only be right to relive some of the biggest stadium fights in the sport’s long and colourful history.
Muhammad Ali vs Henry Cooper II – May 21, 1966
A whopping 41,000 fans crammed into Highbury – the former home of Premier League big boys Arsenal – to watch Ali and Cooper renew their rivalry.
The late Ali got the better of Cooper in their first bout at Wembley Stadium three years earlier, winning the contest via fifth-round TKO.
Cooper, who passed away in 2011, lasted a round longer in their second encounter, suffering a sixth-round TKO defeat.
Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman – October 30, 1974
Arguably the most iconic stadium fight in boxing history, ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’ – which took place in Kinshasa, Zaire – is still one of the most talked-about events in the sport.
Sixty-thousand fans crammed into the 20th of May Stadium, which is now known as the Stade Tata Raphae, to see if Ali could reclaim the heavyweight throne from the undefeated and ferocious Foreman.
And they saw Ali utilise the famous rope-a-dope to tire out Foreman before stopping him in the eighth round.
Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno – October 1, 1993
A heavyweight Battle of Britain between Lewis and Bruno drew an attendance of 25,784 fans at the Cardiff Park Arms Stadium in Wales.
And they saw Bruno – who was challenging for a world title for a third time – suffer a seventh-round TKO defeat to the former undisputed champ.
Oliver McCall vs Frank Bruno – September 2, 1995
Fourth time proved to be the charm for the beloved Bruno as he defeated McCall via unanimous decision to claim the WBC heavyweight title.
Just over 23,000 fans packed Wembley to see Bruno finally fulfil his dream of becoming a world champion.
Mike Tyson vs Lou Savarese – June 24, 2000
On a cold and rainy night in Glasgow, 20,000 fight fans braved the elements at Hampden Park to watch Tyson’s third fight following his release from prison.
The contest, however, didn’t last long as Tyson blew away Savarese in a mere 38 seconds.
Moments later, a fired-up Tyson made an iconic call-out of Brit Lennox Lewis.
Ricky Hatton vs Juan Lazcano – May 24, 2008
The long-awaited homecoming of the Hitman drew a record crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium, which is now known as the Etihad.
Close to 57,000 fans packed the arena to cheer on their local hero, who was fighting for the first time since his 10th-round TKO defeat to Floyd Mayweather.
Hatton put on a virtuoso performance against the Mexican but was unable to get the stoppage he so desperately craved, winning the fight via unanimous decision.
Wladimir Klitschko vs Ruslan Chagaev – June 20, 2009
A whopping 61,000 fans packed the Vetlins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany to see Dr Steelhammer defend his unified heavyweight titles against Uzbekistan’s Chagaev.
They witnessed a one-sided beating that eventually culminated with Chagaev’s corner throwing in the towel in the ninth round.
Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye – July 2, 2011
Two years later, Klitschko would pack out the Imtech Arena in Hamburg for a grudge match with then WBA heavyweight champ David Haye.
Fourty-five thousand fans braved the torrential rain to see Klitschko retain his titles with a unanimous decision victory.
Carl Froch vs Georges Groves II – May 31, 2014
A staggering 80,000 fans packed Wembley to see bitter super-middleweight enemies Carl Froch and Georges Groves renew their rivalry.
The fight shattered the previous boxing attendance record in the UK, which was set by Hatton’s clash with Lazcano.
The punters weren’t left disappointed second time around as Froch closed the book on the rivalry with an emphatic eighth-round knockout.
Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klistchko – April 29, 2017
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Joshua’s bid to become unified heavyweight champion of the world set a new record attendance for a boxing event in Britain.
Ninety-thousand fans filled Wembley Stadium to see if the Olympian could add the WBA and IBO heavyweight titles to his collection.
And they were treated to an absolute treat of a barnburner, which ended with AJ stopping the durable Klitschko in the eleventh round.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
