The 'Knockout chaos' fight night headlined by Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou's blockbuster clash has been ridiculed online for the lack of atmosphere inside the arena.
Saudi Arabia has become the new home of boxing's biggest fights in recent years with huge purses up for grabs.
Tyson Fury reportedly banked at least £50million for his fight against Ngannou in October last year.
Joshua is said to be earning around £30m for going up against the MMA icon with more blockbuster fights to come including Fury and Oleksandr Usyk's heavyweight unification bout.
The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh has attracted some of the world's biggest stars from all walks of life with the likes of Jose Mourinho, Francesco Totti and Ronaldo among the star-studded guests.
They were in attendance for an entertaining night of boxing headlined by Joshua and Ngannou, but there were some brilliant contests on the undercard too.
Nick Ball and Rey Vargas put in arguably the fight of the night with the bout ending in a controversial split decision.
But even that world title featherweight bout failed to get the crowd going inside the Kingdom Arena with some spectators in the front row seen on their phones during fights.
The lack of an atmosphere inside the arena didn't go unnoticed by those watching at home either who slammed how quiet it was.
One viewer fumed: "Awful atmosphere at the boxing."
Another moaned: "Better atmosphere at a funeral. Why anyone would willingly go there is beyond me. Vacuous, soulless place."
A third said: "Come on @EddieHearn I appreciate you've just made a few million quid but admit it... it must kill you a little bit watching boxing in this atmosphere?"
One other mockingly wrote: "What atmosphere? Is this a closed behind doors event?"
Another posted: "Atmosphere is so bad at these Saudi fights."
The main event of the night was Joshua going up against Ngannou, who sent shockwaves all over the world when he put Tyson Fury on the canvas in their fight back in October.
The former MMA star is seen as a dangerous opponent for Joshua with the winner set for a title shot against either Fury or Usyk.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
- Geri Halliwell 'wants the world to know she's still with Christian Horner' ahead of Saudi Arabia GP
- Eddie Hearn 'very sad' about Mike Tyson fighting Jake Paul after controversial Netflix announcement
- British teenager Oliver Bearman dropped out of £17,000-a-year school before driving for Ferrari
The first heavyweight unification fight of this century is scheduled to take place on May 18.
Fury and Usyk have signed up for a two-fight deal, meaning the second contest will likely be later this year.
That potentially means Joshua or Ngannou will have to wait until the start of 2025 for their possible title shot.
from GB News https://ift.tt/j8I5qAS
via IFTTT
Thank you for your message!