Sadiq Khan aimed his pitch on Thursday straight at the promoters chasing an Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury bout, telling them Wembley Stadium is ready and willing.

“A message to the promoters – we want to host it in London. Talk to us, we’re really keen to have it,” Khan told BBC Sport.

He leaned on the pull of a home crowd and the reach of a British stage.

“Wembley has hosted many fantastic events, including bouts involving Tyson and Anthony. We, the fans, want to see them box live in London,” Khan said.

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“I’m hoping the promoters understand that not only will you get 100,000 people watching this bout live, you’ll get millions watching it across the globe.”

Fury has already picked New York

Fury made his own preference public a day earlier. On Wednesday he posted about Madison Square Garden on Instagram, captioned “What a place, what a venue, what a fight.”

Reporting last month pointed to Madison Square Garden and a Friday, November 20 date, with the Friday night slot chosen to avoid Saturday college football and Sunday NFL competition on American screens and to give Netflix an American primetime window for the main event.

Wembley’s own limits on a late-night bout have not helped London’s case. The stadium runs an 11pm curfew, and Khan has previously signalled he is open to a start as late as 4am if the promoters worked with him and Brent Council to move it.

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