ANTHONY JOSHUA had 60,000 fans keeping him honourably on his feet against Oleksandr Usyk in Tottenham 11 months ago.
But that safety blanket of support has been whipped from under him in exchange for Saudi cash, leaving him needing a magic carpet to get out unscathed if he finds himself drowning again in the Red Sea.
The hosting 10,000-seater King Abdullah Sport City arena is little over a mile away from the Jeddah Superdome that was falsely advertised as the venue — but a far cry from the 35,000 seater spectacle.
And despite the tight walls and steep stairs, the place will be utterly devoid of the atmosphere that has, in AJ’s most iconic nights, inspired him to victory.
The standard tickets — available right up until the first bell from a number of outlets in the many, many super-malls — are priced around £90.
That has alienated any of the working-class fans who might have paid much closer to £20 to watch any of the greedy football clubs who have visited to flog their brands in recent years.
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Joshua did not need the silent crowd that witnessed his 2019 cautious points win over an obese Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah.
But — despite the pandemic fears and lockdowns — he insisted on having a 1,000 strong army inside Wembley Arena when he eventually battered Kubrat Pulev in December 2020.
Britain’s national treasure appears to need us almost as much as we love him.
George Groves retired on his 2018 loss to Callum Smith in the same soulless site and admitted his whole experience was a drag.
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Amir Khan’s four-round battering of Billy Dib the following year was, by his own typically honest admission, nothing but a cash grab against an overmatched and far smaller opponent.
Unlike AJ’s last trip to Riyadh, where hosts rushed up an outdoor arena on a Unesco site of historical importance, this venue is more like the arenas boxing’s mid-range UK shows visit in Sheffield, Nottingham and Stratford’s Copper Box.
When AJ seriously struggled in his London 2012 Olympics opener against Cuban ace Erislandy Savon, the home crowd helped convince the judges to give him the victory that eventually set him on the way to gold-medal glory.
In a number of professional wins he has been hurt early — by the likes Dillian Whyte, Alexander Povetkin and Wladimir Klitschko.
But his huge heart and confidence have been boosted by a totally partisan crowd that grew from 20,000 at The O2 to 90,000 at Wembley Stadium.
Ukrainian Usyk on the other hand — with an amateur record of 335-15 — will be perfectly versed in boxing in soulless and almost empty venues.
He was public enemy No 1 in north London last time and still had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.
Everything about this venue plays into Usyk’s heavy hands. It is just another card stacked against our AJ.
Emerging from this stark desert victorious, with his three belts regained, will truly make him the comeback king — with sadly no congregation to celebrate with.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
