Fury vs Joshua 1am ring walk depends on Cardiff Council licence ruling after resident objections

The planned 1am ring walk for Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua now depends on a Cardiff Council decision. The council's licensing sub-committee meets on November 25 to consider an application by the operator of the Principality Stadium, Millennium Stadium plc, to extend its premises licence for the December 11 heavyweight fight. Local residents have filed objections. BBC News, WalesOnline and BoxingScene reported the details on November 10 and 11.

What the stadium wants

The stadium normally has a 1am curfew for boxing when the roof is closed. The application asks to let boxing entertainment, live and recorded music, late-night refreshment and alcohol sales continue until 3am on December 12. The venue would stay open until 3.30am. According to the council, the change is meant to allow "the proposed Anthony Joshua v Tyson Fury bout, with the ring walk commencing at 01:00". A short live music performance would come just before the walks.

BoxingScene reported that alcohol sales at concourse bars would stop at 1am, while hospitality areas could keep serving until 3am. The roof would stay shut for the whole event, and security and stewarding would be stepped up.

Why the fight starts so late

The BBC reported that the event is expected to finish around 3am local time so it lands in prime time in the United States. According to BoxingScene, organisers Netflix and Turki Alalshikh have long insisted on an early-hours start as a condition of staging the fight in the UK. The fight went to Britain after Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn held to their contractual right to a home venue, which ruled out a New York date at Madison Square Garden. Wembley Stadium's strict curfew then ruled it out.

The objections

The council received four representations from residents, according to WalesOnline and the BBC:

• Three asked for the application to be refused. They cited noise, anti-social behaviour, alcohol-related incidents, parking and public safety.
• One resident with two young children said the shouting and singing would "completely wake the whole house up and leave us with exhausted, stressed children". They called the late timing "absolute chaos for those of us living right next to it" and asked how fans would get home after normal train and bus services end.
• A resident living directly opposite the stadium backed the event. They asked for extra conditions: a written dispersal plan for nearby streets, stewards on duty until crowds clear, no amplified music outside after midnight, and street cleaning finished by 8am on December 12. This resident warned that up to 80,000 people could leave between about 2am and 3.30am on a busy December Friday night.

Others wrote in support, the BBC reported, pointing to a "significant economic boost" for local businesses and more tourists from the United States.

Transport plan and what happens next

WalesOnline reported that the stadium has set out extra measures. They include more security units and stewards than usual, plus a post-event transport plan agreed with Transport for Wales, Great Western Railway, Network Rail, the Welsh Government and the council. Extra trains would run between 2.30am and 4.30am, with coach packages to major UK cities, park-and-ride sites and extra flights at Cardiff Airport.

The sub-committee can approve the application as it stands, add conditions, or reject all or part of it. BoxingScene reported that organisers are optimistic the extension will be granted. A refusal, coming just over two weeks before fight night, could force changes to the schedule. There is a precedent at the venue: in 2007, Joe Calzaghe vs Mikkel Kessler started at about 2am local time for US broadcaster Showtime.