Dubai potential location for Joshua-Klitschko rematch

During an interview with Sky Sports, the match’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed that Nigeria and the UK are also in the running.

“So many offers this week – Nigeria, Dubai, America, and also we have the opportunity of Cardiff here in the UK.

“Financially, Cardiff’s not the best choice, but also at the same time, if it’s not broke don’t fix it, and we have that mentality with AJ moving forward,” he said.

“Over the next two weeks we are going to look at all those opportunities and sift out the ones that are real and the ones that make sense, and look at where the fight will be,” he added.

The news has caused confusion for some, as contractually Joshua’s next opponent was meant to be Bulgarian boxer Kubrat Pulev. However, according to a report by Sky Sports, the British world champion has been granted an exception by the IBF on the basis that he fights Klitschko before December 2.

A possible Joshua vs Klitschko rematch isn’t the only fight that we can look forward to this year. Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn are also supposedly making their UAE boxing debut.

Pacquiao announced the news earlier this year by posting a snap of himself alongside a giant fist emblazed with the UAE colours which he captioned: “See you in [the] UAE for my next fight.”

Speaking on the match at the time, the CEO of Al Afaq tourism Diaa Al Khatib said: “We tried our best to finalise the deal for a year now and we are happy that it is through. Where it will be held, Dubai or Abu Dhabi, will be announced in a couple of weeks and Pacquiao will be there.”