The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas could host a potential rematch of the heavyweight boxing clash between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko later this year.
The pair met at London’s Wembley Stadium on April 29, with Joshua winning in the 11th round to claim the WBA and IBO heavyweight titles and retain his IBF belt.
Joshua and Klitschko are set to go head to head once more in November, with a number of possible destinations having been touted. Cardiff’s Principality Stadium has been suggested, with interest from Dubai and Nigeria also said to have been shown.
However, the T-Mobile Arena appears to be the most likely destination after promoter Eddie Hearn last week visited Las Vegas to discuss the fight with the relevant parties.
“We met with Richard Sturm and the team at MGM in Las Vegas … and had a full tour of the T-Mobile Arena which is very impressive,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“There is a huge appetite from both sides to hold the rematch there and we will be talking further over the next week or so to see if that can become a reality.”
An MGM Resorts International spokesman added: “I don’t know how close we are, but I can tell you that there are discussions taking place and hopefully it would be a great opportunity to have the chance to host the fight.”
The spokesman said a decision would hopefully be made over the next couple of weeks.
Hosting the Joshua-Klitschko rematch would represent another feather in the cap for the 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena, which is set to stage next month’s superfight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor.
The venue, which opened in April 2016, has also staged two of Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez’s fights, and is due to host the highly-anticipated clash between Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin on September 16.
In addition, the arena will serve as the home ground for newly-formed NHL ice hockey franchise the Vegas Golden Knights from the 2017 season.
Image: Tomas Del Coro
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