The Pyramids of Giza are a surreal location for Saturday's clash between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven, but there have been other bizarre locations for boxing fights.
IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight champion Usyk will fight former kickboxing champion Verhoeven at a specially constructed and temporary stadium with a stunning backdrop.
It is a strange fight so perhaps it is fitting that Usyk vs. Verhoeven is at one of the strangest venues for a world title fight in boxing history.
It is the first world title fight to be held in Egypt and has been dubbed 'Glory at Giza.' Is it the craziest place to hold a world title fight in boxing history? Here are some other contenders.
Race track, Havana, Cuba (1915): Jess Willard W KO 26 Jack Johnson
The longest heavyweight title fight in history took place in Havana when Jess Willard knocked out Jack Johnson in Round 26 in front of 20,000 fans at Oriental Park race track, 12 miles from the Cuban capital. Johnson, boxing's first black world heavyweight champion, faced arrest on spurious and racist charges in the U.S., which is why the fight happened in Cuba. Thousands of fight fans arrived via steamship from New Orleans and Key West to see the gruelling fight which was fought outdoors in scorching heat.
Remote town of Shelby is bankrupted (1923): Jack Dempsey W PTS 15 Tommy Gibbons
Oil speculators brought Dempsey's defence against Gibbons to remote Shelby, a town in Montana with a population of 500 at the time, not far from the Canadian border. But the event was a commercial disaster and bankrupted Shelby.
It is described as the day the world heavyweight champion Dempsey knocked out a town. Tickets were too expensive for locals, the outdoor stadium cost too much to build, and Dempsey needed to be paid $300,000. Less than 8,000 tickets were sold and four banks in the town subsequently failed. Dempsey swiftly escaped by train (with his purse) to avoid getting caught up in the financial crisis of the event.
Kinshasa, Zaire (1974): Muhammad Ali W KO 8 George Foreman
'The Rumble in the Jungle' between Americans Muhammad Ali and George Foreman was one of the biggest fights in boxing history. But it was a surprise to see the fight staged in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) under the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko in front 60,000 fans at the Stade du 20 Mai. Hundreds of people were reported as being executed at the Stade du 20 Mai eight years before the fight and bullet marks from the firing squads were reported at the time by media on the walls of the world title fight venue. Sese Seko paid a $10 million purse to land the fight in Zaire and arrested 1,000 opponents in the weeks before the fight.
Ali pulled off a shock by allowing Foreman to punch himself out with his rope-a-dope tactics and regain the world title.
Earlier in 1974, Foreman defended his titles vs. Ken Norton in Caracas (Venezuela) and Ali defended his titles vs. Joe Frazier in Manilla (Philippines) in 1975. Ali also ended his career in The Bahamas vs. Trevor Berbick in 1981.
Prison (1981): Dwight Muhammad Qawi W UD 10 James Scott
Scott continued his professional boxing career from behind bars and had his last fight vs. Qawi at Rahway State Prison in 1981. Scott fought 11 times in prison after being convicted of murder. Qawi won a 10-round points decision and then won the WBC world light heavyweight title in his next fight.
A circus tent (1989): Michael Watson W TKO 6 Nigel Benn
Nigel Benn and Michael Watson met in a circus tent in Finsbury Park, north London, in May, 1989. It was called the 'Supertent' and 9,000 crammed into the temporary venue to see Watson knock out Benn with a jab in the sixth for the Commonwealth middleweight title.
Bullring, Mexico City (1998): Julio Cesar Chavez Draw PTS Miguel Ángel González
Chavez had a few world title fights at bullrings and won the vacant WBC junior welterweight title vs. Gonzalez at the Plaza de Toros México, the largest bullring in the world. Over 50,000 saw the draw between the two Mexicans, amid power cuts at the venue.
Golf course car park in Portugal (1993): Chris Eubank W PTS 12 Ron Essett
Eubank defended his WBO world super middleweight title on the grounds of a golf club's car park in the Algarve, Portugal. A big pine tree had to be cut down to make room for the ring. It was later criticised as being 'The Bore on the Shore.'
Cardiff Castle (2002): Joe Calzaghe W PTS 12 Miguel Jiminez
Calzaghe cruised to a dominant points win to defend his WBO world super middleweight title within the 2,000-year-old walls of Cardiff Castle. Calzaghe was never in danger of losing his crown at the Welsh castle, the scene of some historic battles.
Playboy Mansion (2003): David Haye W TKO 1 Vance Winn
Haye, a future world cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, had his fifth professional fight at at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. He posed for a picture with Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner in California.
"The scenery was just a little bit distracting but I managed to knock my opponent out in a few seconds," Haye said. "That was a lot of fun. After the fight I hung out for a night and it was definitely one of my wilder experiences."
Sergey Kovalev, who would become world light-heavyweight champion two years later, was held to a technical draw due to injury to Grover Young in 2011. Vassiliy Jirov and Andre Dirrell also fought at the Beverly Hills venue.
Shopping centre (2012-2013): James DeGale W PTS 12 Hadillah Mohoumadi
DeGale had three fights at an events venue in the Bluewater shopping centre on the M25 near Dartford, Kent. DeGale had the last of three fights there in 2013 -- two years before he became IBF world super middleweight champion.
Equestrian centre (2012): Tyson Fury W TKO 5 Vinny Maddalone
Fury won in his 19th fight at the Hand Arena, an equestrian centre, in Somerset, England. This reporter stood in horse manure on his way to visiting Fury in his changing room after a stoppage win. The Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool has also been used more for boxing.
Former shipyard where Titanic was built, Belfast (2014): Carl Frampton W PTS 12 Kiko Martinez
Carl Frampton won his first world title at a temporary, outdoor 16,000- seat stadium in Titanic Quarter, the dockyard area of Belfast where Titanic was built before its launch in 1912. On a chilly night in his native Belfast, Frampton outpointed Kiko Martinez for the IBF junior featherweight title. The venue was taken down days later, after being put up in just 12 days.
Garden of promoter Matchroom, Essex (2020): Katie Taylor W PTS Delfine Persoon II
Promotional company Matchroom turned the garden at its Mascalls office into a temporary, COVID-19-secure sport venue. This was the back garden of the house where Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn grew up before it became Matchroom's headquarters. It was the scene of world title fights between Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon, and Terri Harper and Natasha Jonas. Only about 100 people were able to attend the event, but the venue was a solution to the restrictions of the pandemic.
Saudi Arabian desert, Diriyah (2019): Anthony Joshua W PTS 12 Andy Ruiz Jr.
Joshua avenged a shock stoppage loss to Ruiz Jr. in the first world heavyweight title fight staged in the Middle East, called 'Clash on the Dunes.' A 15,000-seat stadium was quickly assembled in six weeks in the desert, on the outskirts of Riyadh. The site was the ancient home of the Saudi royal family and the location of a UNESCO World Heritage site. The pop-up stadium was taken down after AJ's win for the WBA, IBF and WBO belts for a reported purse of $85 million (£65m). But boxing would return to Saudi and this was one of the first big fights held there.
Times Square (2025): Rolando 'Rolly' Romero W PTS Ryan Garcia; Devin Haney W PTS Jose Ramirez; Teofimo Lopez Arnold Barboza
This was the day boxing brought traffic in New York to a standstill and transformed Times Square into an outdoor boxing venue. It was the first time a fully sanctioned, professional boxing card was held at this location. The ring was set up on Seventh Avenue in front of ABC's "Good Morning America" studio and Carlo's Bake Shop, with Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Taco Bell and Hard Rock Café across the street.
'Fatal Fury: City of Wolves' seemed too ambitious, too much of a logistical headache to pull off. But three world title fights took place, after the fighters arrived at nearby hotels to the venue by taxi, some in New York's distinctive yellow cabs. Rolly Romero's points win over Ryan Garcia for the vacant WBA regular welterweight belt in an upset got the headlines, but the event failed to deliver the excitement to live up to the unique setting. Lopez, from Brooklyn, retained his WBO junior welterweight title.
Giant broadcast screens around Times Square meant a reported half a million people could watch the fight around the venue, while only about 300 spectators were seated at the temporary venue, which was sealed off by a 10-foot-high chain-link fencing.