'Bring it on' - Cardiff businesses react to Fury vs Joshua rumours

"Bring it on, we are ready and waiting."

Those are the words of one Cardiff bar manager as rumours grow that the Principality Stadium could be the new front-runner to host Anthony Joshua's clash with Tyson Fury.

BBC Sport understands the Cardiff venue is being considered as an alternative to New York's Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium, sparking excitement among the Welsh capital's bars and restaurants.

City Arms manager Mark Falzon said: "It will be really exciting for us – we'll take some good money."

Similarly, Ffreya Davies, manager at Bar 44, said Joshua's previous fight at the Principality was a "huge day for us as a business", attracting "customers from all over the world".

For the richest fight in British boxing history to be held in Cardiff, Wales' nationwide 22:30 BST event curfew will need to be lifted to allow the 02:00 start time wanted by broadcasters Netflix.

The Principality Stadium's retractable roof means it could host the bout in late November despite colder and wetter weather, which could stand in the city's favour despite London Mayor Sadiq Khan's call for promoters to "get the fight to London".

Falzon, whose pub opposite the Principality, has a licence until 04:00, and said the fight would be a huge boost for the city.

"It's the biggest UK fight for the last 20 years," he said.

"Everyone will want to watch Fury and Joshua, whether they like boxing or not."

The pub would remove furniture, serve food and increase security if the fight goes ahead.

Falzon said: "The Oasis weekend [the band played two gigs in Cardiff in 2025] was the best atmosphere we've ever had in the city centre. If it matches that, it will be special.

"Bring it on, we are ready and waiting."

Tapas bar manager Davies, meanwhile, said she would hope the business could catch the crowds before the fight.

"It would be brilliant," she said.

"The footfall from stadium events is always great, but having two such huge names fighting just over the road would be amazing for business."

She said major events were "not only incredible for us as a business, but it's also just great to be able to show off Cardiff".

"It just brings people from all over the world," she said.

"There's something about having an event that the world is watching, happening just over the road, which is really quite special."

Her only concern was for residents living in nearby flats, although she said if the stadium's roof would be closed it could limit disruption late at night.

Nick Newman, chair of Cardiff Night Forum and manager of nine pubs in the city, said hosting the event would be "massive" news for Cardiff.

"We forecast the whole year in terms of activities, but obviously some events come at us unexpectedly," he said.

"It's almost a case of why wouldn't they bring it to Cardiff? We've got the best stadium in the world, with the best hospitality to go with it."

On concerns about licensing rules, Newman said the Licensing Act allowed organisers to apply for temporary event notices.

"I'm pretty sure the council would grant those, blanket grant them so to speak, because of the scale of the event. Obviously, we want to look after all the customers and tourists who come for it."

Paying tribute to the Swifties who flocked to Cardiff for Taylor Swift's shows, Newman said he believed this event could be "a slightly bigger scale, if that's possible" - even compared with Oasis.

He said visitors typically arrived several days early, providing a "massive boost" to the local economy.

"There's so many variables that we have to contend with.

"So anything that puts extra money in the tills means more hours for staff, which is all to the good.

"And for the local economy, again, it's just massive."

The location of the fights has been a major obstacle, with Fury casting doubt over whether it would even go ahead as recently as last month.

He had even suggested he would need to look for a new opponent after claiming Joshua was backing out of the fight.

Joshua's contract with Sela, the Saudi state-owned promotional company which is financing the showdown, stipulates it must take place in the UK.

When Sela turned their attention to New York with a 20 November date in order to capture a bigger audience for Netflix, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn demanded Joshua's purse be increased to reflect the additional tax paid for boxing in the United States.

Fury's agreement with Sela, meanwhile, is for the US, and he has repeatedly used social media to taunt Joshua over his reluctance to commit to anywhere other than the UK.

"It's inching closer and it looks like it could be the British boxing bonanza that we all hoped for taking place in Britain," Fury's manager Spencer Brown told Sky Sports.

"Three venues are still under consideration with Cardiff and Wembley still in the running."