VENUE FOR MUCH-ANTICIPATED WILDER/FURY SUPER FIGHT ANNOUNCED

Image: Tyson Fury Twitter account

 Ladies and gentlemen, we have just taken one more step towards what promises to be one of the greatest fights...no, not just fights...sporting events...no, that also won't do...spectacles (now that's the word!) of 2018.

Come on now, you must know what I am on about. I have already dropped more than a few clues already: "one of the greatest fights" "one of the greatest spectacles of 2018?" What other event could I be talking about than the clash of two of the titans of boxing's heavyweight division, the hottest division in boxing right now. What other event could qualify as one of the greatest – if not the greatest – spectacles of 2018, if not the much-anticipated duel between Britain's own Tyson Fury and the man from the other side of the pond, Deontay Wilder?

This fight, featuring two of the heavyweight division's loudest mouths – loud mouths that have always been backed up by lethal fists to be fair – was assigned a date over the weekend. December 1 was settled upon as the date of the historical bout. However, a venue was not agreed upon until Thursday, the 27th of September.

Would you like to guess the country hosting the bout? Come on it’s easy as pie. We both know that Deontay Wilder is the A-side – gosh, I hate that term, but that seems to always be a bone of contention nowadays – given that he holds the WBC belt and also given Tyson Fury’s being out of the fight game for quite a while and having fought so-called “bums” since his return to the ring, so it can’t be hard to guess where the fight is going to take it place. America of course! The United States of America! Easy as pie.

Trust me, even if the roles had been reversed and Deontay Wilder were returning to action after two years out of the ring and Tyson Fury had a strap, the Americans would have still found a way to get the fight made in America. Such a big fight featuring two unbeaten, highly charismatic heavyweight fighters? There’s no way they would have let the fight - at least not the first leg - take place outside the U.S.

Anyway, now that we know the country in which this piece of history will be made, can you guess the exact state, city, or arena in which it will occur. Did I hear, Las Vegas, Nevada? Well you are...drumroll please...Wrong!

However, don’t be disheartened. I too thought the MGM Grand, the touted Mecca of boxing, was the most fitting arena for such a huge spectacle as this fight promises to be. But like you, I was wrong. Can we be blamed for thinking the MGM was the best place to host such an epic fight when it has hosted the likes of Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao and the rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield? Hell no!

Of course my second candidate was MSG, Madison Square Garden, New York. This is another hallowed temple of boxing having played host to innumerable great fights with the first bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier probably being its most memorable. However, I was wrong once again. MSG will not play host to this great spectacle.

Image: Prayitno via Flickr

  Ladies and gentlemen, Wilder and Fury travel to Los Angeles to trade hard leather in the Staples Centre, another ionic sporting arena - it is the home arena of the NHL's LA Kings, the NBA's LA Clippers and LA Lakers, and WNBA's LA Sparks - though not as revered as the aforementioned two.

Regardless of where the bout takes place, it promises to be one for the history books and true boxing fans – myself definitely included – cannot wait to catch the action. Apparently, the major actors in this drama cannot wait either as evinced by their tweets after the announcement of the fight venue.

“It’s on baby! I’m gonna knock @BronzeBomber out he ent [sic] never fought a puncher like me. That I promise,” Fury tweeted on the day the venue of the fight was revealed.

“December 1st baby!! I can’t wait. I’m ready to add another KO to my record....as long as @Tyson_Fury don’t knock himself out first.    #WilderFury #BombZquad,” Wilder tweeted on Friday with a promo video showing him dealing mercilessly with a few opponents and Tyson Fury almost knocking himself out in his fight against Lee Swaby.

All right guys, we hear you. We’ll see. A word of advice to you both though: Don’t write a cheque with your mouth that your hands can’t cash as some would say.