Oleksandr Usyk will defend his heavyweight title against former unified champion Anthony Joshua this Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The fight took place at The King Abdullah Sports City, a site located north of the city and about 13 kilometers from the Red Sea.
British boxer Mike Goodall recently posted a video from private Twitter account shows some behind-the-scenes work being done at the site of Saturday’s mammoth fight.
King Abdullah Sports City, 12,000-seat air-conditioned venue for the coming Saturdays (August 20) World Heavyweight Championships@usykaaaa v@anthonyjoshua.. is shown live on@SkySportsBoxingin the UK@MatchroomBoxing @dazngroup @ k2promotion pic.twitter.com/tFe4DA3Okl
– Mike Goodall (@MGmrboxing) August 13, 2022
The site has some history with boxing. This was the original home ground of the World Boxing Super Series: Cruiserweight tournament between Usyk and unified champion Murat Gassiev. That match was postponed and moved to Moscow, Russia when Usyk suffered an elbow injury.
The first match ever hosted by the venue ended up being a super-middleweight clash between George Groves and Callum Smith. Usyk-Joshua will be the second match ever held in this arena.
King Abdullah Sports City, named after the former Queen of Saudi Arabia, is a multi-purpose stadium in addition to being a sports city. Used primarily for football, it has also hosted WWE and track and field events in the past.
Just outside the stadium and making up the rest of the sports city are three football fields, four small indoor arenas, six tennis courts, and a larger indoor stadium that serves as a facility. versatile.
The match will mark Usyk’s first fight in Saudi Arabia and Joshua’s second. Before, Joshua beat Andy Ruiz to reclaim his title at Diriyah Arenalocated to the east of King Abdullah Sports City.
Joshua will be looking to repeat the success he had in Saudi Arabia by once again attempting to reclaim the title from Usyk, who beat Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year.
August is one of the hottest months of the year in Jeddah, with current temperatures ranging from 30° to 38°C.
Worries about how people will handle the heat so they can rest as the site is air-conditioned and the fight will take place at night in Jeddah, when it’s considerably cooler.
