The possibility of the UAE hosting the heavyweight world championship rematch between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko has come to an end after it was announced the showdown will take place in Manchester, England on July 9.
Fury, 27, will defend the World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) heavyweight titles he won from 40-year-old Klitschko in Düsseldorf in November.
The confirmation of the date and place for the rematch was confirmed by Fury’s uncle Peter on Twitter: “(On) 9th July Tyson Fury vs Klitschko is coming to Manchester Uk.
“Official announcement coming 12 noon (UK time, 1100 GMT).”
Hamburg-based Klitschko lost his WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO belts to Fury on points last year as the Ukrainian suffered his first defeat in more than a decade.
Fury, from Manchester, was stripped of the IBF belt for agreeing to face Klitschko in a rematch.
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Talks, however, proved protracted, and among the sticking points included a location for the fight.
In February, Fury revealed how there were “five possible venues” to host the rematch, including Abu Dhabi and a more unconventional proposition in Dubai on board a superyacht in front of an exclusive audience.
“I’m hoping it’s not going to go back to Germany. I’d rather go to Abu Dhabi or Qatar than there,” Fury said.
“We even had negotiations to have it on a cruise ship. There was a Sheikh in Dubai who owned a yacht which would fit only 120 people on. He didn’t want to broadcast the fight anywhere and he said he could sell 120 tickets at $1 million (Dh3.67m) each, so that would have been $120m.”
Fury suffered a minor back injury last month and recently said that he thought the delay was due to Klitschko’s hope he will gain weight in the time between bouts.
“I think they think I will put on 10 stone and self-detonate, but that’s not going to happen,” Fury said.
“When I get the date, I’ll go straight back in the gym and start working it off.
“I’ve got a back injury. An old injury flared up when I went over to help Hughie (my cousin) out for his fight (on March 26).
“I got taken to hospital and ever since then, every time I get punched in the back, it goes into a spasm, like a trapped nerve. It’s a painful experience.
“But, listen, when they announce the date, I’ll be ready, back injury or not.”
Fury’s decision to opt for a rematch with Klitschko paved the way for Charles Martin to win the vacant IBF title when Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov injured a knee during their bout in January.
The American will defend his title against Britain’s Anthony Joshua, an Olympic gold medallist in 2012, at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.
This week has seen Fury and Joshua exchange insults via Twitter in the build-up to that world title fight.
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