Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been shown inside the Diriyah Arena ahead of the hotly anticipated bout between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury.
The YouTube star-turned-boxer will step into the ring against Fury, the brother of Tyson, in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night after the best part of two years of constant barbs between the pair.
With Saudi Arabia having won the battle to host the fight, which is expected to draw extensive interest on pay-per-view, Ronaldo has been spotted inside the arena just hours out from the bell ringing.
The great and the good of the region and boxing were in attendance, with Mike Tyson, Deontay Wilder and heavyweight champion of the world Fury all watching on ringside.
Ronaldo, who is earning an astonishing £173m-per-year in Saudi Arabia, was shown by the UK’s host broadcaster BT Sport alongside his son, Cristiano Jr.
Cristiano Ronaldo was shown by BT Sport in attendance just hours out from the bell ringing
Ronaldo was pictured alongside his son in the build-up to Tommy Fury’s fight with Jake Paul
The Portuguese was looking relaxed as he clutched his phone while donning a smart pair of sunglasses indoors.
It had been confirmed a few days prior that the Portuguese would attend the fight, by Piers Morgan. Seemingly left unperturbed by his former club Manchester United claiming victory in the final of the League Cup earlier on Sunday afternoon, Ronaldo arrived early as the arena began to fill up.
The arena which is hosting the fight only holds some 8,000 seats and was purpose-built in two weeks specifically for the fight.
It is yet another indicator of Saudi Arabia’s desire to become one of the major players in sport, alongside other countries in the region such as Qatar.
The move to sign Ronaldo was rubber-stamped by the ruling family, while the Portuguese has taken up an ambassadorial role as part of his multi-million pound contract with Al-Nassr.
Tyson Fury appeared his usual relaxed self as he waited for his younger brother to step into the ring
Deontay Wilder was one of the other notable names in attendance at the bout in Saudi Arabia
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury have exchanged near-constant barbs for the best part of two years
They have done extensive promotion in Saudi Arabia ahead of Sunday’s hotly anticipated bout
Mike Tyson was among the boxing royalty watching perhaps one of the most controversial fights in recent memory
Other notable bouts to have been held in the country include two of Anthony Joshua’s, including a victory over Andy Ruiz in 2019 and a loss to Oleksandr Usyk last summer. The country has also been mooted as a location for Tyson Fury’s world heavyweight unification bout with the Ukrainian later this year.
Having endured something of a difficult start to life in the country, Ronaldo has taken to the Saudi Pro League how many expected.
In his last four games for the club, he has scored eight goals and assisted a further two.
That included four goals against Al-Wehda at the start of this month, while Saturday saw him score a hat-trick against Damac.
Al-Nassr are currently top of the Saudi Pro League with 18 games gone in the season.
source:www.dailymail.co.uk
