Manchester Arena is delighted to welcome Anthony Joshua back to the undisputed and undefeated home of UK boxing, according to general manager James Allen.
Joshua, the IBF Heavyweight Champion, will defend his title for the second time against American Eric Molina on December 10.
The former Olympic champion won his world title back in April when he knocked out Charles Martin in the second round in London, and in June this year successfully defended his title against the American, Dominic Breazeale.
When the 27-year-old defends his title he will join a number of boxing’s biggest names to have fought at, in the words of Allen, the ‘home of UK boxing’.
Speaking to MM, Allen said: “Since our first world championship fight between Prince Naseem and Remigio Molina in 1996 we’ve staged some of the biggest and best boxing events the world has ever seen.
“Our celebrated hall of fame includes epic Manchester encounters between Carl Froch v George Groves, Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu, David Haye v Audley Harrison, Amir Khan v Marco Antonio Barrera and Mike Tyson v Julius Francis.”
NO COMMENT: Manchester Arena general manager James Allen said nothing about the prospect of hosting Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko in 2017
Earlier this week the WBA sanctioned the highly anticipated Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko bout for 2017, with early signals pointing towards a summer fight in the UK.
When asked if the Manchester Arena were interested in hosting Klitschko’s first fight since losing his titles to Tyson Fury in 2015, Allen said: “I’m not sure we can comment on that at present. We’re just focussing on this fight.
“So far this year we’ve already staged classic fights by local heroes Anthony Crolla and Scott Quigg. This fight promises to be another sold out blockbuster.”
Tickets for Joshua’s IBF Heavyweight Championship defence go on sale on Friday at 12pm, but cannot be purchased from the box office.
It was all a dream. I used to read @MensHealthUK magazine! pic.twitter.com/SIqt0pXT9J
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) November 3, 2016
For more information about this event visit: http://www.manchester-arena.com/events/world-championship-boxing-anthony-joshua-vs-eric-molina/4695/
Image courtesy of Sky Sports via YouTube, with thanks.
