Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev - 12 December 2020

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hughie Fury and Martin Bakole have been added to this card, but in seperate fights.

Why not just have them fight each other.

[Flump]

This card really looks like a horrible night for entertainment.

[DrDuke]

This card really looks like a horrible night for entertainment.

Hughie-Wach is obviously going to be like that. But there's some hope, that Glowacki will make an Okolie fight watchable. The other matchups bring interest for sure.

[Flump]

I'm not feeling it Dr. The main event is a mismatch featuring a limited, elderly challenger who shouldn't see round 4. Okolie, as much as I want him to win, is horrible to watch in every fight. Fury - Wach? Hmmm. Then we have two Michael Hunter victims squaring off.

This isn't screaming "buy me".

[Ruthless-RKO]

I'm not feeling it Dr. The main event is a mismatch featuring a limited, elderly challenger who shouldn't see round 4. Okolie, as much as I want him to win, is horrible to watch in every fight. Fury - Wach? Hmmm. Then we have two Michael Hunter victims squaring off.

This isn't screaming "buy me".

That’s hardcore boxing fans. This doesn’t apply to general AJ fans which know shít about boxing. They’ll pay just because it’s AJ. PPV’s are never usually aimed at hardcore boxing fans.

[Flump]

I'm not feeling it Dr. The main event is a mismatch featuring a limited, elderly challenger who shouldn't see round 4. Okolie, as much as I want him to win, is horrible to watch in every fight. Fury - Wach? Hmmm. Then we have two Michael Hunter victims squaring off.

This isn't screaming "buy me".

That’s hardcore boxing fans. This doesn’t apply to general AJ fans which know shít about boxing. They’ll pay just because it’s AJ. PPV’s are never usually aimed at hardcore boxing fans.

You speak the truth RKO.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearn Taking Precautions To Ensure Fight Goes Through

Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, is taking all of the necessary precautions to ensure that his fighter's mandatory defense goes through as scheduled.

Joshua will satisfy his mandatory obligation on December 12, when he faces Kubrat Pulev in the UK.

According to Hearn, the challenger will be arriving to the UK a lot earlier than usual to enter the required quarantine system.

"Kubrat Pulev will be making his way to London shortly, sooner than we think, and he will be entering the bubble weeks in advance. A lot of these top heavyweights and these guys who are earning considerable purses are being constantly tested on a daily basis," Hearn told Sky Sports.

"You look at Derek Chisora, I think he was getting tested every other day. We will bring Pulev here. Every international fighter has to be tested before they travel, and we will make sure he's in the bubble, in an enclosed environment, because you just can't risk it. Normally on fight week, you get a five or 10 percent chance that a fight could fall through. Here it's 50-50, for every fight.

"When you talk about a fight of that size, you have to take extra precautions and that will be making sure both guys are in a bubble, nice and early, and are locked away under strict surveillance to make sure that they're good to go for fight night."

If Pulev were to fall out for whatever reason, the next man in line, under the IBF, is the number two ranked Charles Martin - who Joshua knocked out in 2016 to capture his first world title.

And that's why Martin's manager, Mike Borao, doubts a rematch would happen.

"If the fight is cancelled for any reason, a number of scenarios could present. If Joshua is injured, I think it is very possible Martin and Pulev could fight for the vacant IBF title. In that case, IBF rule procedures would be followed. If Pulev is injured, although Charles is the next available contender, I doubt Joshua would opt for that bout, likely resulting in a vacated title as well," Borao said.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joshua vs Pulev: Timing, pricing and booking details for Anthony Joshua against Kubrat Pulev

Anthony Joshua defends his world heavyweight titles against Kubrat Pulev in a spectacular homecoming clash on December 12, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Here are the pricing and timing details for all the booking options.

Event information

Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev (WBA 'Super', IBF and WBO heavyweight titles), Lawrence Okolie vs Krzysztof Glowacki (vacant WBO cruiserweight title), Hughie Fury vs Mariusz Wach (10 rounds at heavyweight), Martin Bakole vs Sergey Kuzmin (WBC international heavyweight title).

The event will start at 6pm, Saturday, December 12, on Sky Sports Box Office (Sky channel 491), Sky Sports Box Office HD (Sky channel 492), UHD 2 (event will not carry Dolby Atmos).


Viewers watching 'live' in HD can enable audio description via their Sky remote to access crowd sound effects. This option is not available on the Sky Sports Box Office app and website.

The event is priced at £24.95 for UK customers, €27.95 for Republic of Ireland customers, up until midnight, Friday, December 11.

Thereafter £24.95 / €27.95 (ROI) across all "self-service" bookings (remote control / online) and £29.95 / €32.95 (ROI) if booked via the phone (either IVR or agent), but note an additional £2 booking fee if via an agent still applies.

The event price will revert back to £24.95 / €27.95 (ROI) from midnight, Saturday, December 12.

Two repeat showings (full duration) will be shown at 9am and 4pm on Sunday December 13.

Booking information

Remote

From Friday, November 20, for Sky + customers, go to Channel 491 and press the green button to go to Sky Sports Box Office. Use the arrow buttons to highlight the event. Press select, and the buy screen will be displayed. Press select to confirm your order. Enter your pin if prompted.

For Sky Q customers, scroll to Sports and then Box Office.

From Saturday, December 5, no matter what channel you are on, press Box Office. Use the arrow buttons to highlight the event. Press select, and the buy screen will be displayed. Press select to confirm your order. Enter your pin if prompted.

You can only record the event by using this method.

To book online

[url=https://www.sky.com/boxofficeClick here[/url] to book Joshua vs Pulev

There is no surcharge for online bookings.

Phoneline

To order the event, call 03442 410888 (0818 220 225 from ROI) (there may be a £2 booking fee for telephone bookings). There is a £5/€5 surcharge for bookings made via the phone from midnight Friday December 11 to midnight Saturday December 12.

Cable customers

Available to Sky and non-Sky customers. Virgin Media, BT and TalkTalk customers, please contact your operator.

Sky Sports Box Office terms apply and a booking fee may also apply.

[mickey1975]

£25? Hearn is getting worse. Crawford, Dubois, Canelo and Campbell aren’t even on there and he’s saying £25 is value!

[Boxerbeetle]

£25 No thanks.

[blanca]

25 notes to watch that crap...theyd need to pay me to watch Okolie

[Ruthless-RKO]

£25? Hearn is getting worse. Crawford, Dubois, Canelo and Campbell aren’t even on there and he’s saying £25 is value!

So I take it all future AJ ppv's will be £25..

I've noticed, he using more 'bigger' guys on the undercards.. Like he had mainly HW's on the Saudi undercard..

What's he trying to do? promise KO's?

Pov-Hunter and Whyte-Wach didn't produce that.. neither did Ruiz-AJ.

[maverick23]

It’s a shame that all AJ fights are seemingly going to be £25 going forward but at least he’s fighting.

If it was a choice of the upcoming show for £25 or no show (like with Tyson Fury) then I’d the fight and show takes place.

I’d much rather watch this show than pay £10/£15/£20 to watch Mike Tyson in an exhibition with Jake Paul on the undercard!

[Jimmy2020]

The justification for the higher price will be lack of a live gate. However, the likelihood of the price dropping when crowds come back is close to zero. Wouldn't be at all surprised if Joshua v Fury is close to £50.

[Ruthless-RKO]

The justification for the higher price will be lack of a live gate. However, the likelihood of the price dropping when crowds come back is close to zero. Wouldn't be at all surprised if Joshua v Fury is close to £50.

AJ-Ruiz was also £25... Would have thought it was a one-off. Cashing out on AJ..

Many thought it would go back down to £20.. I guess you could be right, it MAY be to do with live gate, but I don't buy that.

Hearn is just milking the fans. They put Ruiz-AJ 2 at £25 and it sold around 1.4m ppv buys.. It was a huge rematch and it was primetime in the UK. Due to the fact that it sold so well, why would they revert AJ's fights back down to £20.

This fight doesn't really appeal that much to hardcore boxing fans.. but it will sell, because it's AJ and most of his PPV's are bought by casual/borderline hardcore fans. I do hope this one doesn't sell as much.. but due to the higher price, the revenue may be the same.

Think this say..

800k buys at £19.95 = £15.96m
700k buys ar £24.95 = £17.49m (100k less buys still gives them £1m+ in revenue)

600k buy at £24.95 = £14.97m (200k less buys give them around £1m less in revenue)

You get the gist.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev: Fans forced to fork out eye-watering £24.95 to watch pay-per-view fight – 12 months after Eddie Hearn said Andy Ruiz price was a ‘one-off’

Joshua has not been in the ring since defeating Andy Ruiz Jr almost 12 months ago, a fight which saw him bring the belts back to Britain after avenging his sole professional loss.

But, despite returning to the UK for the first time since 2018, fans of the 31-year-old must pay £24.95 to watch the fight on Sky Sports Box Office.

Lawrence Okolie and Hughie Fury will appear on the undercard, with Martin Bakole kicking the event in the capital off. Fans became accustomed to paying £19.95 for pay-per-view events, but were force to cough up even more for the rematch in Riyadh.

Large sections of fans were left upset at having to pay the exact same price for the rematch with Ruiz last year, with Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn claiming ‘I think you will not see £24.95 again for some time’.

He told Boxing Social in 2019: “It wasn’t my decision, I understand it, it’s the biggest fight of the century, it’s one of the biggest fights of all time.

“It’s not a reflection of the future of Pay-Per-View, I think this is a one off fight where you may not ever see a fight like this again.

“So that was a decision they made, they always control the price point Sky, sometimes they consult in me, sometimes I’m told what it is.”

“The KSI vs Logan Paul fight from earlier this month was shown for £9.95.

“I don’t know what to tell you, this is a freak event that is one of the biggest heavyweight fights of all time. I think you will not see £24.95 again for some time.”

He continued: “Although people think I own Sky and DAZN, I can’t speak on their behalf about long-term pricing strategies on pay-per-view but from everything I understand – £19.95 is the price point but this is one of the biggest heavyweight fights of all time and £24.95 is the price point here.

“£9.99 worked well, with KSI and Logan Paul, so who knows, I think you’ve got to be flexible in this situation.”

[milpool]

The justification for the higher price will be lack of a live gate. However, the likelihood of the price dropping when crowds come back is close to zero. Wouldn't be at all surprised if Joshua v Fury is close to £50.

Eddie insisted on the Boxing News podcast that the cost of the Fury v Joshua fight would begin with a 2. I was expecting him to say 200 quid but he meant that the price wouldn't creep over £29.99. It's on record, so if it's £30 I'll be letting him know that he's a big fat liar!

[Spud]

Not getting my £24.95 ... thats out of order.

[Boxerbeetle]

25 quid to watch AJ pummel someone who Wlad smashed up years ago, and the undercard is absolute pants as well. They’re having a laugh.

[coneye]

Woke up this morning with a song in my head ,by the Everly brothers , It went something like , STREAM STREAM STREAM , when i watch you , all i have to do is stream stream stream .

Stuff AJ , stuff Hearn and a mighty big stuff your PPV

[JimJim2009]

25 quid to watch AJ pummel someone who Wlad smashed up years ago, and the undercard is absolute pants as well. They’re having a laugh.

Spot on

[Nightmare Roy]

I’ll be watching it for the discounted price of Nil Pence, only a mug would pay that

[Ruthless-RKO]

I’ll be watching it for the discounted price of Nil Pence, only a mug would pay that

Fair enough the Ruiz fight was make or break for AJ.. big rematch.. but this..

We’ll go fishing..

[Ruthless-RKO]

Undercard Press Release

Souleymane Cissoko will take on Kieron Conway in a ten round Super-Welterweight clash on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's Unified Heavyweight World Title defence against Kubrat Pulev on Saturday December 12, shown live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Frenchman Cissokho (11-0, 7 KOs) won bronze at the 2016 Rio Games at 69kg before joining the professional ranks in 2017 where he is now undefeated in eleven fights - with seven of those victories coming by way of knockout - and signed to Joshua's 258 MGT and Matchroom Boxing.

Northampton's Conway (15-1-1, 3 KOs) overcame a spirited start from Navid Mansouri to seal a wide points victory and claim the vacant WBA Intercontinental Super-Welterweight Title, the first belt of his professional career, last time out at Fight Camp.

"I'm very excited to get back in the ring as part of a huge card on December 12," said Cissokho. "It has been a difficult year for everyone and I am itching to fight. I cant wait to put on a show and showcase my skills in the UK for the first time. It’s a dream come true to be able to perform for the British public.

"Thank you to my team at 258 Management and Matchroom for working to get me this opportunity. Training camp has been tough but I am ready to go 100%."

"I'm looking forward to this fight massively," said Conway. "It's another big fight for me, another big challenge and another big win. Being on this show is huge. There’s going to be massive viewing figures and I’m excited to be part of the whole thing.

"I know Cissokho was a very good amateur, and I know he’s skilful but I’m looking forward to showcasing my own skills and showing more of what I’m about.

"He hasn't fought for a while, so it could be an advantage for me. Being out the ring for a year does nobody any favours but we will see on fight night, either way I’m looking to dominate. After this fight I’d expect more big fights and for people to not overlook me anymore."

Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) defends his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO World Titles against Mandatory Challenger Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) on a huge night of action that sees Lawrence Okolie (14-0, 11 KOs) take on Krzysztof Glowacki (31-2, 19 KOs) for the vacant WBO Cruiserweight World Title, Manchester Heavyweight Hughie Fury (24-3, 14 KOs) returns against Poland’s Mariusz Wach (36-6, 19 KOs) and Martin Bakole (15-1, 12 KOs) and Sergey Kuzmin (15-1, 11 KOs) fight for the vacant WBC International Heavyweight Title.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joshua v.s Pulev: Crowd of 1,000 in Play For Heavyweight Clash

A crowd of 1,000 is set attend Anthony Joshua’s world heavyweight title defence against Kubrat Pulev on December 12.

The UK Government announced plans to allow spectators to return to sporting events on Monday when the present England lockdown ends on December 2.

While outdoor events will be allowed up to 4,000 spectators, indoor events will be allowed to admit 1,000 paying spectators.

Fans have not been allowed to attend boxing events since the first pandemic lockdown began in March.

Eddie Hearn's Matchroom team have drawn up several plans to allow fans to attend while remaining socially distanced.

The fight, for Joshua’s WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF titles was originally scheduled for June at the 60,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It is presently due to be held at the O2 Arena, in London, which was booked when Hearn had hopes of admitting more than 4,000 fans.

However, it could be switched to the SSE Arena, Wembley, where Hearn has so far staged three shows of its planned four-night residency. Either venue would be able to allow crowds within the British Boxing Board of Control’s protocol, which would have a “red zone” at ringside where no fans would be allowed to go.