London Stadium Pursues Boxing After West Ham Relegation

London Stadium could challenge Wembley and Tottenham as England's top boxing venue after operators announced plans to reclassify boxing shows and increase capacity by more than 30 percent.

The Stratford stadium, built for the 2012 Olympics and currently home to relegated West Ham United, has never staged a boxing event. According to City AM, the venue's operator LS185 now wants to recategorize boxing from sporting events to unique events, which would lift the crowd ceiling from 60,000 to 85,000.

London Stadium Boxing Plans Target Major Promotions

The shift would put the Olympic Park venue in direct competition with Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Britain's biggest fights. Cardiff's Principality Stadium remains the winter option thanks to its retractable roof — Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua meet there December 11 in front of more than 80,000 fans.

West Ham's old ground Upton Park hosted David Haye versus Derek Chisora and Kevin Mitchell's fight with Michael Katsidis. The nearby Copper Box Arena has staged boxing regularly since 2013, but the main stadium has sat empty for the sport despite its size.

British, Commonwealth and European champion George Liddard and stablemate Jimmy Sains have both said they want to fight at the stadium. Connor Mitchell, son of Kevin, has spoken about boxing on the West Ham pitch one day. Stadium bosses appear ready to make those ambitions possible by pursuing the lucrative market for sold-out arena shows that have drawn similar crowds at Wembley over the past decade.

Source: ringmagazine.com