YouTube And iVB Target World Record Boxing Event
YouTube and iVisit Boxing (iVB) have announced a massive event in San Francisco on July 11, 2026, aiming to shatter a nearly century-old attendance record.
The project plans to host nearly 150,000 fans at the Civic Center Plaza, which would surpass the current world record of 135,132 set in 1941 when Tony Zale defeated Billy Pryor. To ensure a record-breaking turnout, iVB CEO Ed Pereira confirmed that the vast majority of tickets will be free of charge.
The event is being designed as a full-scale cultural festival, featuring a music stage, a fan village, and a high-tech “open-air” viewing experience with no physical fences separating the crowd from the ring. The promotion is aggressively targeting unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk has expressed a specific interest in facing Deontay Wilder. Fans looking to attend for free can register via a lottery-style system at ivb.co/tickets. The main card—will be streamed live and for free on YouTube.
Pereira Reacts
“We are open to working with all promoters, managers, content creators and fighters, so of course we’d be open to speaking to boxer of that calibre, who wouldn’t want Usyk on their card? It’s going to be more than just a fight. What attracted us to YouTube, and YouTube to us, was that commitment to cultural moments. It’s all about creating a cultural moment – a cultural moment in the city of San Francisco, a cultural moment in California, and a cultural moment for the world.
“Anybody can go and put a show on and just produce it live on their own YouTube channel… but we are doing exactly the same as what the NFL did. This partnership with YouTube puts us in the next league. Boxing fans want to see the biggest fights and they want to see the biggest fights on the biggest stages. But, ultimately, I want to make it accessible to the casual fan… and everyone has YouTube on their phones,” Pereira said
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