Joshua vs Klitschko boxing match sets record 90,000 viewers

The biggest heavyweight boxing match of 2017 between Anthony Joshua (England) and Wladimir Klitschko (Ukraine) will not take place until April 29, but already 90,000 people have bought tickets to watch the match at the legendary Wembley Stadium.

The boxing match between Anthony Joshua (left) and Wladimir Klitschko will not take place until April, but is already hot with ticket sales records set. Photo: AFP

This viewership set a new record when it surpassed the old record of the match between two boxers Carl Froch and George Groves also at Wembley Stadium in 2014 with 80,000 viewers.

Since the beginning of this week, after the press conference to launch the match, the official ticket sales for the match have immediately caused a stir in the UK. The match organizers said that in just over a day (since January 16), with two ticket sales, the 80,000 tickets originally planned for the match were sold out quickly. On the website specializing in selling event tickets, StubHub, there are a few tickets being resold at 4 times the official price, but there are still many English fans hunting to buy them.

The match organisers therefore asked the London authorities to increase the capacity of the stadium. This request was approved to add 10,000 more seats to Wembley Stadium to meet the current hot demand. A total of 90,000 tickets were sold, after the organisers opened a second round of ticket sales, which was a record.

Ticket sales alone are expected to help the organizers earn a total of more than 30 million pounds (surpassing the 22 million pounds earned by the Froch-Groves fight). The cheapest tickets for the Joshua-Klitschko fight are located on the upper floors and are quite far away, and were originally sold for only 45 pounds per ticket. But due to the ticket fever, they have now increased to 186 pounds per ticket. Other types of tickets are also cheap but have relatively easy viewing positions, and have now increased in price to 340 pounds per ticket. The exact price of VIP tickets is unknown at this time, but according to The Mirror (UK), the figure must be calculated from a thousand pounds or more.

The confrontation between Joshua and Klitschko will take place at Wembley Stadium. Photo: AFP

In addition, another source of revenue that quickly set a record in the history of British boxing was the television copyright of the match, roughly estimated at more than 42 million pounds. This figure is expected to continue when the copyright is sold internationally so that the match can be broadcast live around the world with millions of viewers expected to watch via pay TV channels.

The heat of the match continues to increase because British fans are confident that their "homegrown" boxer Joshua will make history, defeating veteran opponent Klitschko to own all 3 heavyweight championship belts: IBF (International Boxing Federation), IBO (International Boxing Organization) and WBA (World Boxing Association). Joshua is 13 years younger than Klitschko, has an unbeaten record in all 18 matches in his career to date, and all 18 wins were by knockout. Meanwhile, the once-famous boxer Klitschko, has a total of 68 matches to date, winning 64 (53 wins by knockout) and losing 4.

Joshua or Klitschko, who win this fight, will receive a bonus of 30 million pounds or more, not including additional money divided proportionally from ticket sales, advertising and television rights.

According to TNO