Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev to cost £24.95 despite Eddie Hearn’s pay-per-view promise
AJ’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr cost the same as the Briton’s upcoming title defence, a fee that Hearn previously called a ‘one-off’
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Your support makes all the difference.Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title defence against Kubrat Pulev is set to costs fans £24.95, the same price as the Briton’s highly-anticipated rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr last year.
Joshua will defend his WBA, WBO and IBF belts against the Bulgarian mandatory challenger at London’s O2 Arena on 12 December, marking AJ’s first time stepping in the ring since he outpointed Ruiz Jr on 7 December 2019.
That bout in Saudi Arabia was arguably the biggest of the year, with Joshua out to avenge his surprise knockout defeat by the Mexican-American in June – the only loss of his professional career.
As such, boxing fans were met with a £24.95 price point for the pay-per-view contest – a £5 increase on what customers were used to – though it is somewhat more surprising that Joshua’s upcoming defence versus Pulev is due to cost the same on Sky Sports Box Office.
READ MORE: Why Pulev will beat Joshua
Fellow Britons Lawrence Okolie and Hughie Fury – cousin of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury – will be in action on the undercard.
Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn insisted that the £24.95 fee represents good value for fans, despite saying 12 months ago that the cost of the AJ vs Ruiz Jr rematch was a “one-off”, “not my decision” and did not represent the “future of PPV”.
“We had 70,000 people at Tottenham that are no longer coming, so we decided to keep the PPV price the same as his last fight,” Hearn said, referencing the original plans for the main event to take place at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium.
“No price increase, despite the fact there are millions and millions [of pounds] no longer coming into the fight.”
The British government announced on Monday evening that spectators will be allowed to return to sporting events from 2 December, when the national lockdown is lifted. The maximum number of fans allowed at a venue is expected to be 4,000, though 1,000 is likely to be the limit at the O2, given it is an indoor arena.
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