Boxing fans in America are upset they will be asked to shell out $60 to watch Jake Paul and Anderson Silva's fight later this month.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul has been out of action since December last year, and returns against legendary former UFC middleweight world champion Silva. But fans will be forced to pay a steep amount to watch the fight on pay-per-view on October 29 as part of a major Showtime Boxing event broadcasting from Arizona.
In the UK, the fight will cost fans $20, or around £18, but fans in America are generally asked to pay considerably more given to their culture of hosting parties surrounding such events. The theory is that events such as this one happen so early in the morning or late at night that they wouldn't feasible to have large gatherings around where friends pitch in to pay the bigger price.
"That’s pricey," one fan wrote on Twitter after the price was confirmed. "Was going to buy this out of respect of Anderson but man." That fan along with a number of others noted that they are more likely to find illegal streams of the show after learning of the hefty PPV price.
"I can think of much better things to do with my 60 bucks," another wrote. "Like a tank of gas." Another added that the fight's build-up, where Paul has been much less inflammatory than his past outings, won't be enough to do the business, saying that it "needs rivalry to gain traction for a $60 fight. The respect thing won’t do."
What do you make of the price for Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Silva's last PPV headliner in the UFC was his 2019 bout at UFC 234 against Israel Adesanya, which set fans back $65, while his bout with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Mexico last year cost American fans $40. Paul charged the same $60 for his rematch with Tyron Woodley last December, which reportedly struggled to 200,000 buys after the same price point did 500,000 for their first fight.
Paul has stated that he expects the fight to do in the region of 500,000 buys on pay-per-view, but could see it going as high as 700,000 if enough people get on board with the event. A fascinating if athletically weak undercard features NFL star Le'Veon Bell against knockout artist Uriah Hall and YouTube star Dr Mike facing off with former UFC fighter Chris Avila.
“I do think this will be the biggest pay-per-view [of my career],” Paul told MMA Junkie last week. “I would be happy with anywhere from 300-500,000, but I think it can get up anywhere to like 600 or 700,000, depending on how the fight week goes and the promotion and if ‘All Access’ performs well. I think this could be the biggest one for sure.”
