One of the most anticipated boxing bouts of the year is Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua. One analyst believes that, should the championship battle materialize, it would not really take place in the UK, where the combatants are originally from.

For more than seven years, heavyweight boxing fans in Britain and across the globe have longed to see the current heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, and the former heavyweight title holder, Anthony Joshua, finally make amends. And the majority thought it would happen in Fury’s nation of origin.

However, Dr. Rob Wilson, an expert in sports finance and an economics professor at Sheffield Hallam University, thinks that rather than being in the UK, the planned bout would likely happen in Saudi Arabia or Las Vegas, Nevada.

In an interview with Grosvenor Sport, he named income growth as the primary element that will shift the conflict away from their nation of origin.

“Even if it was 10 years ago that fight would probably not be happening in the UK, it will go to a much bigger market that can get driven by PPV. Saudi is now just battling with Las Vegas for the chance to stage the fight and get the PPV money for the top boxers in the world,” Wilson said.

Wilson is right when he says that there has never been a top-10 pay-per-view match held at Wembley Stadium. On the other hand, for many years, the MGM Grand Garden Arena and Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas have hosted a number of the most popular championship bouts.

Saudi Arabia has also actively sought to expand into the boxing world, as seen by their current schedule of bouts.

Given that Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia hosted Fury and Joshua’s two most recent fights, it stands to reason that their next big heavyweight matchup would take place there as well.