Which British football stadiums have held boxing matches? Tyson Fury vs. Derek Chisora at Tottenham joins list

Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora will provide the latest addition to a long legacy of boxing matches in British football stadiums when they meet at the home of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

Past and present stadiums have staged massive fights, from Spurs’ neighbours Arsenal and the home of the England team at Wembley, to huge venues in Scotland and Wales.

Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Fury and Chisora themselves are among the names to have stepped inside rings in the centre of pitches.

The Sporting News takes a look at some of the blockbuster events to have taken place across almost a century of action.

MORE: All you need to know about Fury vs. Chisora 3

Has Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted boxing matches before?

Since opening in April 2019, Tottenham’s impressive new home has hosted one boxing event – the bout between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021.

Relative heavyweight newcomer Usyk earned a masterful points victory over home fighter Joshua, taking four belts off the two-time unified king in a result his victim could not quite avenge in their rematch in Saudi Arabia in August 2022.

Tottenham’s former stadium of White Hart Lane also laid on a boxing match when legendary fighters Frank Bruno and Joe Bugner clashed in 1987, resulting in an eighth-round knockout win for Bruno.

Will Tyson Fury fight at Old Trafford?

When he was asked about his dream fight venue in 2019, Fury did not hesitate in naming the largest ground in the Premier League.

“It would be Old Trafford,” he told ESPN. “I’ve always wanted to box there and, hopefully, one day that dream will come true. I’m a homegrown Manchester man. I always go down there to watch games.

“I’d love to fight there one day and I know they’d love to have me. It’s all about timing and so far it’s not been available on that day or there have been TV commitments. Some day, it will happen.”

History of boxing matches at British football stadiums

Some stadiums, such as the former Ninian Park and current Principality Stadium in Cardiff, have repeatedly held boxing matches in front of enormous audiences.

Others, including Arsenal’s former home of Highbury, have only held one bout, while some venues hold special significance for the fighters involved, such as Elland Road (for Leeds United fanatic Josh Warrington) and Goodison Park (for Everton obsessive Tony Bellew).

Here’s 12 significant fights that took place in British football grounds: 

* Denotes stadium no longer in use

** Split draw

History of boxing matches at Wembley Stadium

From Ali to Wladimir Klitschko, England’s national stadium has shone the spotlight on boxing royalty and hosted several thrilling contests during its deployment as a home for some of the most heavily attended fight nights in history.

Jack Petersen vs. Walter Neusel (June 25, 1935)

Welsh boxing great Peterson had already fought in front of 70,000 people at the former White City Stadium in London by the time his trilogy with German nemesis Neusel visited Wembley Stadium for its second edition.

Peterson had retired against Neusel in the 11th round when they first met at Wembley Arena in February 1935, and their slugfest at the stadium exhausted both men before the two-time British heavyweight champion was pulled out by his father in the 10th round. He later lost to Neusel again in another epic.

Muhammad Ali vs. Henry Cooper (June 18, 1963)

As a 21-year-old, Ali had not been born when Wembley Stadium last hosted a boxing match — and the Olympic gold medalist offered some typically scorching words about Cooper before retracting his description of the Londoner as a “bum” in the immediate aftermath of their legendary fight.

Cooper came agonisingly close to ending Ali’s unbeaten record at the time, knocking his vaunted opponent down in the fourth in a beating that left trainer Angelo Dundee desperately trying to rouse Ali in his corner at the end of the round. Crushingly, Cooper could not fight on in the fifth because there was blood pouring from his left eye, but he had gained abundant respect from Ali in one of the toughest of the revered American’s wins.

MORE: Tyson Fury vs. Derek Chisora 3 purse, salaries: How much money will fighters make for 2022 boxing match?

Tim Witherspoon vs. Frank Bruno (July 19, 1986)

Cooper and Ali were part of the 40,000 crowd at the stadium 23 years later, when Bruno’s best chance of beating Witherspoon centred upon his American opponent’s visible paunch and reputation for partying. Witherspoon denied he had not taken the fight seriously enough and certainly had enough conditioning to respond in ruthless fashion when Bruno attempted to knock him out in the 11th round.

The 28-year-old duly knocked out the home favourite to retain his WBA heavyweight title and send the majority of the crowd — possibly not including Ali — away heartbroken.

Tim Witherspoon and Frank Bruno pic.twitter.com/TyyRFNu3h9

— 36MINUTESBOXING (@36MinutesBoxing) January 26, 2022

Oliver McCall vs. Frank Bruno (September 2, 1995)

This was another night with a link to the nearby arena: McCall had knocked out Lennox Lewis in the second round at the smaller venue to win the WBC title the previous year, and arrived at the stadium hoping to make it fourth time unlucky in title fights for Bruno.

Bruno built a sizeable lead in the opening half of the fight against an opponent hoping he would tire, which proved true as McCall provided an onslaught in the latter rounds that was not enough to finish Bruno, who took a UD victory. Unluckily for Bruno, the win guaranteed him a date with Mike Tyson in the States six months later, and he lost in the third round in what proved to be his final fight.

Carl Froch vs. George Groves (May 31, 2014)

The first boxing match at the new Wembley Stadium, which opened in 2007, was the result of a marketing masterclass: Froch had contentiously beaten Groves in an arena fight the previous November, but the theatrical animosity between the pair tempted 80,000 fans to the rematch.

British hall-of-famer Froch brutally knocked out hugely talented upstart Groves with the final punch of his superb career in round eight. The self-aggrandising Froch famously later pointed out to Floyd Mayweather that he had demolished Groves in front of a sold-out Wembley — an unintentionally comical remark during a broadcast that has been the subject of many a meme ever since.

📅ON THIS DAY: Froch v Groves 2🔥

Look away George… it’s Carl’s favourite day in the calendar😬 pic.twitter.com/3oJxLAkbbR

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) May 31, 2021

Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko (April 29, 2017)

Poster-boy powerhouse Joshua had won 18 fights and the IBF title by 2017, but the then-unbeaten, hugely popular Olympic gold medalist had never fought anyone of the calibre of Klitschko, a 64-fight titan with almost three times as many knockouts as Joshua to his name and only one defeat in more than a decade on his record, when he was beaten on points by Tyson Fury in 2015.

In a fight for the ages in front of 90,000 people, both men scored knockdowns before Joshua detonated a terrifying combination of exactly the kind needed to bring down a competitor as tough and vastly experienced as Klitschko. The win earned Joshua two more titles and truly established him as an elite contender, while the final fight of Klitschko’s career sealed his status as a legend of the sport.

Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte April (23, 2022)

Fury’s first fight in the UK in almost four years arrived on the back of his two epic wins over Deontay Wilder in the US and provided the most high-profile night of challenger and compatriot Whyte’s career.

Watched by 94,000 people, the fight ended in an emphatic victory for the Mancunian when he knocked Whyte out in the sixth round before briefly retiring from the sport.

MORE: Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte results: Gypsy King dominates to secure 6th-round KO and pledges retirement

Will there be a boxing match at Anfield?

The home of Liverpool is one of the most famous grounds in England and has repeatedly been linked with fights in recent years.

Local former world champion Callum Smith has been mooted as a headliner at Anfield during his career, and there was talk of one of his boxing brothers, Liam, fighting Chris Eubank Jr. there before that fight was confirmed to take place at Manchester Arena in January 2023.

There is also potential for an MMA event at Anfield. UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett is a Liverpudlian and a Reds fan with a massive following, and he has talked up his chances of luring former champion Conor McGregor to the stadium for a scrap.