Martin Bakole vs Solomon Adebayo and Da'Mazion Vanhouter vs Michael Essomba added to Fury vs Joshua card

Two more heavyweight fights have been added to the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua card at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday, December 11. Martin Bakole will face Solomon Adebayo, and unbeaten American prospect Da'Mazion Vanhouter will meet Michael Essomba, Netflix and Turki Alalshikh announced on Wednesday, November 11, exactly one month before fight night.

Netflix, which is streaming the event worldwide, described the line-up as an "all-heavyweight main card" and wrote that it is "locked." Turki Alalshikh and The Ring said more fights will be announced for the wider undercard.

The main card

• Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua
• Deontay Wilder vs Jai Opetaia
• Martin Bakole vs Solomon Adebayo
• Da'Mazion Vanhouter vs Michael Essomba

Fury vs Joshua is for the WBA 'super' heavyweight title, according to BBC Sport, and finally brings together the two British former champions after years of failed negotiations. Wilder vs Opetaia, confirmed on November 4, is the co-main event. Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs), the unbeaten cruiserweight champion, is moving up to heavyweight for the first time to face Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs), the former WBC heavyweight champion who fought Fury three times between 2018 and 2021.

Vanhouter's quick turnaround

The Vanhouter booking had been expected. The 21-year-old Zuffa Boxing heavyweight stopped former Czech champion Ivan Balaz in the first round at Zuffa Boxing 12 on Saturday, November 7, dropping him three times with body shots before the referee waved it off at 2:04, BoxingTalk reported. That win took him to 14-0 with 11 knockouts.

After that fight, Zuffa Boxing's Dana White told Sky Sports he wanted to keep Vanhouter busy. "Is this kid the next great American heavyweight? And the answer seems to be yes right now," White said. "He's another one turning around and fighting again quickly and I believe that he'll probably be on the Cardiff card too. The truth of the matter is why would you not want to be on that card? That's the card you want to be on, especially if you're a heavyweight."

The Cardiff appearance will come just five weeks after the Balaz knockout. Essomba is his opponent, though records and further details for him were not included in Wednesday's announcement.

Bakole back on a big stage

Bakole, the Congolese heavyweight, gets a slot on one of the biggest boxing events of the year against Adebayo. The announcement did not give records or weight details for either man, or say whether a title is on the line.

What else to know

The start time remains a talking point. According to BBC Sport, the Fury and Joshua ring walks are expected around 1am GMT on Saturday, December 12, which has drawn objections in Cardiff Council's licensing process; a ruling is due on November 25. Main-event tickets sold out in under an hour, the BBC reported.

POP MMA will update the card as further bouts are confirmed.