Anthony Joshua was joined by Cristiano Ronaldo at ringside to watch his rivals Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk go to war in their heavyweight title fight in Saudi Arabia.
Two-time world champion Joshua arrived at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday night to take his seat alongside football legend Ronaldo ahead of the historic undisputed showdown.
Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo has regularly attended boxing shows in Saudi Arabia since joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr in January 2023, watching the action alongside the likes of UFC star Conor McGregor at previous cards.
Joshua joined him ringside on this occasion with the two seen deep in discussion during the undercard action.
Fury, the WBC champion, and Usyk, who holds the IBF, WBO and WBA titles, are fighting to crown the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
While a rematch between the two is expected to follow later this year, Joshua’s focus is firmly on fighting the winner.
A bout between Joshua and Fury has been years in the making with their Battle of Britain one of the most eagerly-anticipated fights in the sport.
Joshua would also be eager to avenge his two defeats to Usyk, having lost his world titles to the Ukrainian in 2021, losing again in their rematch a year later.
With Fury and Usyk likely to meet again in October whatever happens tonight, Joshua is expected to return to the ring in September for a spectacular show back at Wembley Stadium, where he has not fought since his knockout victory over Alexander Povetkin in 2018.
He is expected to fight either Daniel Dubois or Filip Hrgovic – who will fight on the Queensberry vs Matchroom card on 1 June.
Should Joshua come through that fight unscathed, fighting the winner of Fury vs Usyk 2 will surely await in early 2025.
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