Oleksandr Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua through a split decision of the judges in a fight at stake for the championship belts of the IBF, WBA and WBO federations. The Ukrainian defended the world title after taking the British belt from the British in September last year.
Fans criticize the atmosphere during Usyka’s fight with Joshua
The most anticipated boxing match this year was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. According to the British media, promoter Eddie Hearn wanted the duel to be held in London at the Tottenham stadium, but the Saudis were to make a very high bid. Has it paid off? Looking at the comments of some fans, it’s not quite. According to them, the atmosphere during the gala was “the worst ever”.
“The worst atmosphere you’ll ever see at a boxing event – why are they there, there’s no interest outside of the cash register,” wrote one Twitter user. “The atmosphere is shocking! It’s a warning to Joshua and Fury if they were to fight. It has to be at Wembley,” added another supporter. More fans added that the atmosphere was “dead” and “looks terrible”.
“This box in Arabia is bloody soulless. I saw a better atmosphere at funerals,” wrote another fan. Later in the post, he spoke vulgarly about Joshul and Hearn for having devoured money and agreed to organize a fight in Saudi Arabia. “There is a better atmosphere in the library. I am totally in favor of a sport that goes to new regions and attracts new fans, but the lack of atmosphere is a real shame. I hope they will wake up for the main event,” commented another user.
Joshua and Hearn criticized for choosing Saudi Arabia
The choice of the site for the Usyk-Joshua duel has been criticized by human rights groups. “A kingdom that is jointly responsible for the humanitarian disaster in Yemen, where it is still at war. In Arabia, the most executions of alleged criminals are carried out, and oppositionists are silenced by prison. To whitewash internationally, the Saudis have already pumped 1.5 billion into the world sport. dollars. And they continue to pump them up “- wrote Kacper Sosnowski on Sport.pl.
– They have a terrifying history of restricting the rights of LGBT people and women. There were beheadings there, extrajudicial murders and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It is a country that is actively involved in the conflict in Yemen. Each such event is an attempt to whitewash all these crimes – this is how Felix Jakens from Amnesty International spoke about Saudi Arabia in December 2019. It was before Joshua’s fight with Andy Ruiz.
Joshua and his promoter, however, defended Saudi Arabia. – Since we were last here, boxing has grown by 300 percent here. They opened 49 boxing halls, they also held their first women’s championship. It’s very positive, Joshua said.
– I see huge changes here. I was in Jeddah last week and what I saw is very different from what we found during the second fight with Andy Ruiz. The Saudis invest heavily in sport and in educating young players, added Hearn.
– The British government could learn from the Saudis how they invest in young boxers. There is an amazing interest in sports here. This is best reflected by the 300% increase in the number of halls and clubs – the promoter concluded.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
