Boxing fans in America are furious after learning they will have to fork out $49.99 to watch Jake Paul's grudge fight with Tommy Fury.
YouTube star Paul has held a long-term feud with British star Fury ever since his first win over Tyron Woodley in August 2021. The pair have come close to battling on two occasions but the scheduled dates have collapsed, with Fury first withdrawing with a broken rib before being unable to travel to the US for their planned clash last August.
However the pair have now agreed to do battle for a third time with the fight set for February 26 in Saudi Arabia as part of a pay-per-view card. The fight will be broadcast on BT Sport Box Office in the UK and as an ESPN+ pay-per-view in the UK which will incur an additional cost on top of the standard subscription.
And it has been revealed that viewers will be forced to invest $49.99 to watch the fight in the US, where many fans will be hoping to support the American star Paul. Fans have reacted angrily to the news, with one writing: "I wasn't going to watch it and now I've seen that, I'm not going to watch it." Another added: "Yeah no one is paying that!"
One fan sarcastically wrote: "That's tremendous value, I'd happily have paid at least $89.99 to watch these two world-class athletes box." Another agreed: "50 dollars to watch these bums. Daylight robbery." One fan suggested it was a good price: "This does 100-200k PPV in the US and 500k+ PPV in the UK. Good pricing. Good partners."
Another compared the price to KSI's recent win over FaZe Temperrr, adding: "KSI against a Call Of Duty player was around the same place and this is 1000x levels above them! This is cheap." One fan even believes other broadcasters would have adopted a similar model, concluding: "If HBO were still in boxing, they’d have gone over and above for purse bids on this in my opinion.
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"Suited their customer demographic down to a tee. And YouTuber fights are sporadic financial commitments, which is what their boxing business model was predicated on."
Both fighters announced the clash on social media, but a price for the UK broadcast on BT Sport Box Office is yet to be confirmed. Paul stated that he is excited to finally settle the scores and has vowed to pick up another KO win. He tweeted: "Tommy has no excuses now. Baby’s born. Money’s massive. Immigration no issue.
"Tyson promises he and his dad John will make Tommy retire from boxing and change his last name if he can’t beat the YouTuber. Tomorrow I’m coming to London to look at all three Fury’s in the eye and shake on that promise."
