Boxing fans got a shock when DAZN recently announced the pay-per-view price for the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury rematch. The fight, set for December 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will cost $39.95 in the US and £24.99 in the UK.
This price tag has stirred up quite a fuss. Many fans remembered a promise made by Turki Alalshikh, who said the fight would cost less than £20 in England and under $20 worldwide. He'd kept his word before, pricing the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois fight at £19.95.
One fan voiced their disappointment on social media:
"Whatever happened to promise from Turki Alalshikh to lower PPV prices…………."
The price hike comes after the first Usyk-Fury bout lost a whopping $95 million due to illegal streams. About 20 million viewers watched without paying, with 18% of those in the UK.
DAZN's decision hasn't gone down well with fight fans. Another supporter grumbled:
"Poor undercard but what's the price in Europe."
The undercard features Isaac Lowe vs. Lee Mcgregor in a featherweight clash, Moses Itauma vs. Demsey McKean, Johnny Fisher vs. Dave Allen, Dennis McCann vs. Peter McGrail for the European Super Bantamweight title, and Serhii Bohachuk vs. Israil Madrimov. But fans don't seem thrilled by this lineup.
This pricing strategy follows a trend of high PPV costs in boxing, which often leads to more illegal streaming. DAZN learned this lesson the hard way with the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol fight. They charged $19.99 for just the undercard in the US, while the main event was free for ESPN+ subscribers. The result? Less than 1000 PPV buys in the States.
As one frustrated fan put it:
"Too Expensive!"
With streaming issues plaguing recent big events like Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson on Netflix, boxing fans' patience is wearing thin. The sport faces a tough challenge: how to price fights fairly while protecting revenue from piracy. For now, it seems the fans are caught in the middle, feeling the pinch in their wallets.
