Fury vs Joshua sells out in an hour as 500,000-plus queue for Cardiff showdown
Fury vs Joshua sells out in an hour as 500,000-plus queue for Cardiff showdown
Fury vs Joshua tickets sold out within an hour of going on sale on Friday, as more than 500,000 fans piled into the online queue for the December 11 heavyweight clash at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. The all-British showdown, billed as the biggest fight in British boxing history, lived up to a decade of hype before a single punch was thrown.
Around 80,000 tickets went on sale at midday UK time via Ticketmaster and were gone by about 1pm. Prices ranged from £88.50 to £13,128 including booking fees, roughly $117 to $17,357. Within minutes of sales opening, the queue had swollen past half a million, with talkSport reporting the total peaked above 650,000 across the Ticketmaster and stadium websites.
A decade in the making
This will be the first meeting of Tyson Fury, 38, and Anthony Joshua, 36, two former world heavyweight champions whose rivalry has simmered for over ten years. The fight was announced last month and will stream globally on Netflix, with ring walks expected around 1am on December 12 and the stadium licensed to stay open until 3:30am.
Fury had predicted a rapid sell-out at the September 30 launch press conference, joking it would take “about 39 seconds”. It took closer to an hour, but the demand still stunned even seasoned promoters. Resale listings appeared almost immediately: the BBC reported VIP ringside seats advertised at £73,645 and upper-tier seats at £425.
The sell-out follows a rocky build-up. Less than two weeks before tickets went on sale, the fight’s future was in doubt amid a dispute over Dana White’s role in the promotion. Netflix later confirmed that Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and White would collaborate on promoting the event, while Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn maintained that Joshua’s contract prevented White from holding a promotional role. The two fighters are reported to be sharing a purse close to $200 million.
Record demand for Fury vs Joshua tickets
The late ring walk is a deliberate play for the American audience, with Netflix keen to maximise its global subscription base. Cardiff is no stranger to after-midnight main events: Joe Calzaghe’s 2007 unification clash with Mikkel Kessler began at 1am, as did Lennox Lewis versus Frank Bruno back in 1993 at the old National Stadium on the same site.
For British boxing, the numbers tell their own story. Even though the fight no longer carries quite the championship implications it once might have, as talkSport noted, the public appetite for Fury versus Joshua has not dimmed. Whether the fight itself can match the frenzy of the ticket queue is the question that will hang over Cardiff until December.
Frequently asked questions
How fast did Fury vs Joshua sell out?
Around 80,000 tickets went on sale at midday UK time on Friday and sold out within the hour, by about 1pm. More than 500,000 fans were in the online queue within minutes.
How much did the tickets cost?
Prices ranged from £88.50 to £13,128 including booking fees. On resale sites, VIP ringside seats were quickly listed at £73,645.
When and where is the fight?
Tyson Fury faces Anthony Joshua on December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Ring walks are expected around 1am on December 12, and the event streams globally on Netflix.
What is the reported purse?
British media report the two fighters will share a purse worth close to $200 million.
