BOXING fans slammed the “soulless” atmosphere ahead of Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua 2.
Fans tuning in to the fights before the main event felt the King Abdullah Sports City could have done with an injection of noise.
Callum Smith beat Mathieu Bauderlique and Filip Hrgović defeated Zhang Zhilei in a hard-fought battle that went the distance – but it was not enough to engage the audience.
Viewers took notice and made their feelings clear on social media – criticising the lack of atmosphere inside the arena.
One fan wrote: “This boxing in Saudi is f***ing soulless. I’ve seen better atmosphere at a funeral. F*** Joshua, Hearn for being money grabbing c***. Come on Usyk!!”
Another added: “What an awful atmosphere. Shocking holding #UsykJoshua in this arena and location.”
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And a third said: “You get better atmosphere’s in libraries.
“I’m all for sports going to new regions and attracting new fans but the lack of atmosphere has been a real shame. Hope they wake up for the main event.”
Fans tuning in to the earlier fights also got a glimpse of Joshua as he headed to his dressing room.
And many spectators felt AJ looked nervous as he chewed on a mysterious green object, which was possibly his gumshield.
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The Brit also did his best to generate an atmosphere with his Mike Tyson-inspired ringwalk.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
