IT LOOKS like fans will have to fork out just under £30 to watch Anthony Joshua’s unification fight with Tyson Fury.
That is according to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, who has already faced backlash over the cost of AJ’s next clash.
Viewers will have to shell out £24.95 if they want to watch Joshua defend his world titles against Kubrat Pulev.
The two heavyweights will clash at Wembley Arena on December 12 – albeit behind-closed-doors.
As a result of crowds not being allowed to watch the fight live, AJ is believed to be missing out on some £8MILLION.
The event will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office at a whopping £24.95, equalling the record price to watch AJ’s revenge against Andy Ruiz out in Saudi Arabia in December last year.
Back then, Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn defended that price, saying it was because it was ‘a one off fight where you may not ever see a fight like this again‘.
He also insisted it was a decision taken by Sky Sports and not himself, as it is again this time.
However, despite many feeling that figure is too much, if AJ gets past Pulev and goes on to face the WBC title holder Fury it will cost even more.
Speaking to IFL TV over the price to watch the two Brits get it on, Hearn said: “I would think that if the AJ fights moving forwards are £24.95 – Sky’s decision, or whoever else is broadcasting the fight with Sky – I would think £29.95 would be the price point for that fight.”
Hearn attempted to justify the inflated price for the Pulev fight, pointing to the lack of gate revenue.
The Matchroom Boxing supremo said: “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.
“No price increase, despite the fact there are millions and millions no longer coming into the fight.”
The decision, however, means that AJ fans will have to shell out nearly £25 to watch their hero in action for the first time in 12 months – just 13 days before a Christmas in which people are already feeling the strain of a tough financial year.
Joshua, 31, had initially been pencilled in to face Pulev at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in June, in front of a capacity crowd in North London.
But with the coronavirus pandemic having swiftly KO’d that plan, Joshua will now face the 39-year-old Bulgarian at an empty Wembley Arena.
