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Exclusive: Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte set to break British attendance record

Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte are colliding on April 23 at Wembley Stadium for the WBC heavyweight championship, with the event set to break the UK attendance record for a boxing fight.

Planet Sport can reveal Tyson Fury's upcoming clash against Dillian Whyte is set to become the largest ever UK boxing event of all-time. 

The pair will go toe-to-toe on April 23 at Wembley Stadium - the home of football - and will follow in the footsteps of Carl Froch's rematch with George Groves and Anthony Joshua's titanic victory against Wladimir Klitschko.

Froch-Groves 2 - which saw Froch deliver a spectacular KO in 2014 - had 80,000 fans in attendance, while Joshua's 2017 heavyweight unification win was watched by 90,000 spectators.

As it stands, Fury-Whyte has sold 85,000 tickets and did so within three hours. Promoter Frank Warren - who won the purse bids to stage it under Queensberry Promotions in association with Bob Arum's Top Rank (£31m) - claimed the fight could have sold out Wembley three times over.

Warren has been in the process of applying to the local authorities to extend the capacity to 100,000 fans, and that would make it the largest post-war attendance for a boxing fight in UK history.

The fight is currently at 90,000 after they were able to add an additional 10,000 tickets in coach packages.

The European record is currently 102,000 - something which won't be possible for Fury-Whyte to break but as it stands they are currently tied for the biggest boxing event in UK history alongside Joshua-Klitschko. Len Harvey vs Jock McAvoy also had 90,000 but took place in 1939.

Planet Sport have been told by a source involved in the Fury-Whyte fight that you should 'keep your eyes peeled next week' for a further announcement on tickets.

Fury has not fought in the UK since 2018. His last five bouts have all taken place in America and under Arum, the Gypsy King has become a household name in the States.

Fury's first fight saw him somehow climb up from the canvas against Deontay Wilder in 2018 and despite winning the majority of the rounds, the fight was declared a draw on the scorecards at Staples Center.

His next two fights were against Tom Schwartz and Otto Wallin in Las Vegas before another two encounters with Wilder.

The 2020 rematch was a one-sided win for Fury, who under new trainer SugarHill Steward, knocked Wilder out in the seventh round to win the WBC title.

In doing so, Fury became just the second heavyweight to win all four major world titles in his career after Riddick Bowe (WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO).

Following a global pandemic and a court arbitration, Fury was denied a domestic clash against Anthony Joshua in 2021 and instead took on the 'Bronze Bomber' once again in October.

The first defence of his WBC heavyweight title was far from easy. Fury was forced to overcome two knockdowns by Wilder before eventually delivering a brutal KO in the penultimate round.
Fury - who also dethroned Klitschko in 2015 - has said April 23 could be the final time he steps inside the ring despite a potential contest against the winner of Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
Speaking ahead of his world title defence, Fury told BT Sport: "The only thing I can gain is money.

"So after this fight I'll have earned over £100million. If I can spend that, I don't deserve any more, do I? I know Mike Tyson spent half a billion and Evander Holyfield £400million and all the rest, but I don't live their big flash lifestyles.

"I live in Morecambe, in Lancashire. It's cheap there. I don't have any big habits like I'm gambling tons of money away. I don't do anything. I can never spend the money I've got.
"I've got stuff I want to do, a lot of opportunities that don't involve me getting brain damage. I've got six kids and a wife. When is enough enough?
"Why do I have to be one of those people who went on too long and got injured? Just had one too many fights and blew it all for what? A few more quid?
"I want to retire on top, unbeaten heavyweight champion of the world. I want to do a Netflix documentary, a Hollywood movie, and be a good husband, father and son.
"Most of all I just want to be happy, and that's probably the hardest thing."
Usyk is preparing to make his ring comeback after flying back to Ukraine and defending his country from an invasion by Russia.
The Ukrainian southpaw defeated Joshua in September 2021 to win the WBA, IBF and WBO titles and in doing so, became just the second fighter after Evander Holyfield to unify the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.

Should Fury decide to carry on boxing, and take on the winner of Usyk-Joshua, then the heavyweight division will see its first undisputed champion crowned since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

Read more: Boxing schedule for 2022 - Every major fight night, date and venue

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