Ronaldo-Messi clash forces changes to Joshua, Wilder's fights in Saudi Arabia

After dominating the football pitch and captivating the limelight for nearly two decades, it seems that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s influence knows no boundaries as the star footballers’ presence apparently has major effects on other sports as well.

Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and Messi’s Inter Miami are set to lock horns on February 1 in Saudi Arabia. However, the repercussions of the highly-anticipated clash between star footballers will not only be limited to the football world as it is likely to affect Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder's fight plans, reported mirror.co.uk.

Joshua and Wilder will be returning to the ring this weekend with the former going up against Otto Wallin and Joseph Parker, respectively at the Kingdom Arena in the Saudi Capital Riyadh.

However, owing to the Ronaldo-Messi clash on February 1, the boxing ring will be established in a different part of the arena as the organisers fear the football turf might get damaged otherwise.

For now, the organisers’ priority seems to be the football match dubbed as “The Last Dance” as currently the turf is being laid and the boxing event being moved to a temporary venue.

It is to be noted that for the Joshua vs Wilder fight to happen on March 9, the duo need to win their aforementioned matches, reported marca.com.

With the capacity to host 26,000 people, the football stadium will host Al Hilal fans which will be followed by Fury’s fight against Oleksandr Usyk on February 17.