Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev - 12 December 2020

[mickey1975]

Who’d want to go? Sat apart singing Sweet Caroline.... no bar. Horrendous night out. Eddie will probably charge stupid money with only 1,000 allowed.

[TheLeprechaun]

Pulev has a chance here. He lets his hands go and punishes mistakes opponents make. He's not the kind of guy to take any risks in the ring at all. His defense didn't hold up against Wlad and he was a sitting duck for the left hook. It doesn't really look like he's changed much defensively so he could get done again by left hooks in this fight but if it's a long range boxing match then I think Pulev has the jab/feints/speedy 1-2 to be competitive.

[stujones]

Pulev has a chance here. He lets his hands go and punishes mistakes opponents make. He's not the kind of guy to take any risks in the ring at all. His defense didn't hold up against Wlad and he was a sitting duck for the left hook. It doesn't really look like he's changed much defensively so he could get done again by left hooks in this fight but if it's a long range boxing match then I think Pulev has the jab/feints/speedy 1-2 to be competitive.

I honestly think there is a case for Pulev to be AJ's second hardest fight "on paper" behind Klitchsko - I think it is very close with the three P's - Parker, Povetkin and Pulev at their stages in their career for the hardest "on paper" fight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Frank W defends Eddie Hearn over Anthony Joshua ppv price

In the build-up to Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce, promoter allegedly finds time to defend Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing over the Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev ppv cost

https://www.secondsout.com/seconds-out- ... -ppv-price

In the build-up to the biggest all-British fight of the year, Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce which takes place this Saturday, show promoter Frank W has found time to empathise with rival Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. The latter parties have come under fire, along with broadcast partner Sky Sports, for charging £24.95 to watch Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev on December 12.

The price point appears to have caused quite the consternation in some quarters, despite it matching the cost of Joshua’s last fight, the rematch with Andy Ruiz last December. There seems to have been confusion over whether that initial price rise (from £19.95) was designed to be permanent for all AJ fights, or if it was down to the magnitude of that particular contest. Warren, who levied the same amount for the Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury rematch on BT Sport Box Office, but has made this weekend’s domestic megafight available at no additional charge, defended the Joshua vs Pulev price.

"We’ve got no live gates, where are we going to get the income? It’s got to come from somewhere," explained Warren, who could not confirm if Fury’s next contest would stay at £24.95, in an interview with our YouTube channel. "We have no live gates so I can’t blame Matchroom for charging what they’re charging. It’d be very easy for me to say ’It’s a liberty’ and so forth, but there’s no live gate. Where are you going to generate the money from? You’ve got to generate it from somewhere."

In the interview, Warren also reflects on his 40 years in boxing as we approach the anniversary of his entering the sport, next week.

[MightyWarrior]

In other words, F*ank plans to charge £25 for his next PPV.

[mickey1975]

Hearns podcast with Mike Tyson backfired.He never said a word when Mike told him AJ might be popular here but Fury has the masses and wins easily.

[Ruthless-RKO]

BREAKING NEWS

1,000 fans will be allowed in to watch Anthony Joshua's world title defence against Kubrat Pulev at the O2 Arena on December 12 following the announcement of a new regional tier system today.

London has been placed in Tier 2 so spectators will be allowed in to watch Joshua's first fight in a year when he puts his heavyweight titles on the line against Pulev in the capital.

The news will come as a huge boost for Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, who made it clear that he was keen to stage the fight with fans present.

Boxing and other elite sports will now be able to welcome spectators back - which for many will be the first time since the coronavirus pandemic swept Britain and forced the first national lockdown in March - if the events are being staged in areas across England in either Tiers 1 or 2. No fans will be able to attend sporting events in locations in Tier 3.

[Nightmare Roy]

BREAKING NEWS

1,000 fans will be allowed in to watch Anthony Joshua's world title defence against Kubrat Pulev at the O2 Arena on December 12 following the announcement of a new regional tier system today.

London has been placed in Tier 2 so spectators will be allowed in to watch Joshua's first fight in a year when he puts his heavyweight titles on the line against Pulev in the capital.

The news will come as a huge boost for Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, who made it clear that he was keen to stage the fight with fans present.

Boxing and other elite sports will now be able to welcome spectators back - which for many will be the first time since the coronavirus pandemic swept Britain and forced the first national lockdown in March - if the events are being staged in areas across England in either Tiers 1 or 2. No fans will be able to attend sporting events in locations in Tier 3.

Can only imagine what those tickets will change hands for

[milpool]

BREAKING NEWS

1,000 fans will be allowed in to watch Anthony Joshua's world title defence against Kubrat Pulev at the O2 Arena on December 12 following the announcement of a new regional tier system today.

London has been placed in Tier 2 so spectators will be allowed in to watch Joshua's first fight in a year when he puts his heavyweight titles on the line against Pulev in the capital.

The news will come as a huge boost for Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, who made it clear that he was keen to stage the fight with fans present.

Boxing and other elite sports will now be able to welcome spectators back - which for many will be the first time since the coronavirus pandemic swept Britain and forced the first national lockdown in March - if the events are being staged in areas across England in either Tiers 1 or 2. No fans will be able to attend sporting events in locations in Tier 3.

1,000 members of the cast of TOWIE I would imagine!

[Jimmy2020]

Nah, they'll not be able to afford it and no need for comps. City boys will snap them up.

Five grand a ticket with that scarcity.

[CaptainSpacerod]

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

I’m also a big fan of rivers but whenever I go fishing the rod I choose proves to be unreliable and often breaks before all the fish have swam through. Any angling advice would be much appreciated

[maverick23]

Nah, they'll not be able to afford it and no need for comps. City boys will snap them up.

Five grand a ticket with that scarcity.

The 1,000 will have to be heavily spaced though. Wouldn’t be happy paying a wedge for the fight and sitting on the upper tier!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Nah, they'll not be able to afford it and no need for comps. City boys will snap them up.

Five grand a ticket with that scarcity.

The 1,000 will have to be heavily spaced though. Wouldn’t be happy paying a wedge for the fight and sitting on the upper tier!

It’s a 20k seater.. surely they’ll be spaced well.

Alamodome had 9000 fans spaced out in a 70k seater.

[mickey1975]

Nah, they'll not be able to afford it and no need for comps. City boys will snap them up.

Five grand a ticket with that scarcity.

The 1,000 will have to be heavily spaced though. Wouldn’t be happy paying a wedge for the fight and sitting on the upper tier!

It’s a 20k seater.. surely they’ll be spaced well.

Alamodome had 9000 fans spaced out in a 70k seater.

It’s 11,000. At Wembley arena.

[Ruthless-RKO]

The 1,000 will have to be heavily spaced though. Wouldn’t be happy paying a wedge for the fight and sitting on the upper tier!

It’s a 20k seater.. surely they’ll be spaced well.

Alamodome had 9000 fans spaced out in a 70k seater.

It’s 11,000. At Wembley arena.

It’s at o2 mate.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑
BREAKING NEWS

1,000 fans will be allowed in to watch Anthony Joshua's world title defence against Kubrat Pulev at the O2 Arena on December 12 following the announcement of a new regional tier system today.

[maverick23]

It’s a 20k seater.. surely they’ll be spaced well.

Alamodome had 9000 fans spaced out in a 70k seater.

It’s 11,000. At Wembley arena.

It’s at o2 mate.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑
BREAKING NEWS

1,000 fans will be allowed in to watch Anthony Joshua's world title defence against Kubrat Pulev at the O2 Arena on December 12 following the announcement of a new regional tier system today.

I thought Eddie changed it to Wembley Arena but that was when the likelihood of fans was fairly low. Perhaps he reverted back

[JxhDel.]

The card of this event rules

[Ruthless-RKO]

If it’s not Okolie on the undercard it’s usually KT.. if it’s neither, it’s usually Dave Allen..

[Ruthless-RKO]

1,000 FANS TO ATTEND JOSHUA VS PULEV

Matchroom Boxing are delighted to announce that 1,000 fans will be in attendance for Anthony Joshua OBE’s defence of his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO Heavyweight World Titles against Mandatory Challenger Kubrat Pulev at The SSE Arena, Wembley on Saturday December 12, following approval for a crowd from local authorities.

Fight fans will have the opportunity to watch unified king Joshua fight on home soil for the first time in over two years, with tickets priced at £100, £200, £300, £500 and £1,000 (VIP) available to purchase via AXS (www.axs.com) and StubHub (www.Stubhub.co.uk) on Friday December 4 at 10.00am, as spectators are welcomed back to live boxing for the first time since March.

Strict safety measures and guidelines will be in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• The lead booker can only attend with members of their own household (ID including address will be required on entry).

• Matchroom Boxing are participating in the NHS Test and Trace scheme. Lead booker details will be collected and shared for this in line with legal guidelines, and NHS Track & Trace check-in codes will be in place for fans to scan at entrances.

• You must not attend an event if you have tested positive for Covid-19, are required to self-isolate or have suffered from Covid-19 symptoms within 14 days of the event.

• You must wear a face covering at all times during your visit to The SSE Arena, Wembley (if you’re medically able to do so and aged 11+). They can be safely removed when you’re seated to eat or drink.

• Tickets must not be resold.

• No refund policy

Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) vs. Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) tops a huge night of action in London promoted by Matchroom Boxing in association with Top Rank and Epic Sports and Entertainment, with all of the action shown live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories on its just-launched Global platform, as Lawrence Okolie (14-0, 11 KOs) takes 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), Martin Bakole (15-1, 12 KOs) and Sergey Kuzmin (15-1, 11 KOs) fight for the vacant WBC International Heavyweight Title, Souleymane Cissoko (11-0, 7 KOs) takes on Kieron Conway (15-1-1, 3 KOs) in a ten round Super-Welterweight clash, Ramla Ali (1-0) faces Vanesa Caballero (3-9-3) in her second professional fight and Leeds Super-Bantamweight Qais Ashfaq (8-1, 3 KOs) looks to return to winning ways against Ashley Lane (14-9-2, 1 KO).

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to see fans returning to our live boxing events,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “Whilst the team have done an incredible job over the last 10 months we live and breathe through the energy and atmosphere that a live crowd generates.

“It’s so fitting that they can return for an AJ fight, when through the last few years he has broken all kinds of attendance records in the U.K. and beyond. This is such a positive move for boxing and all sport. Welcome back!”

John Drury, VP & General Manager of The SSE Arena, Wembley, said: “The SSE Arena, Wembley is delighted to have our customers back for its reopening event, and it does not get any better than the return of fans to see Anthony Joshua in action.

“The SSE Arena, Wembley will open its doors with best-in-class procedures from ASM Global’s VenueShield programme. VenueShield is a comprehensive, industry-leading programme deployed at more than 325 ASM Global facilities around the world, providing the highest levels of enhanced cleanliness and safety.

“As a response to the coronavirus pandemic, ASM Global has partnered with medical professionals, industry leaders, and public health officials to create a welcoming, secure environment while providing the most advanced hygienic safeguards for anyone visiting the building.

“We are following all government and local authority health guidelines in order to reopen, and look forward to bringing fans and events back in a Covid-secure way.”

The fight which was originally planned for The O2 arena, has been moved to The SSE Arena, Wembley due to promoter logistics.

[Spud]

I fully understand a fighter has to fight his mandatories ... but to charge a PPV fee over this load of b*llocks is taking the p*ss out of the fans.

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would accuse Mr Hearn of rinsing the fans into purchasing PPV to rhe maximum on Sky before it is announced his complete commitment to DAZN and thus his departure from Sky.

[maverick23]

I fully understand a fighter has to fight his mandatories ... but to charge a PPV fee over this load of b*llocks is taking the p*ss out of the fans.

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would accuse Mr Hearn of rinsing the fans into purchasing PPV to rhe maximum on Sky before it is announced his complete commitment to DAZN and thus his departure from Sky.

He won’t leave Sky. Matchroom are heavy interlinked with them on several different sports but I’m sure they’ll use the DAZN connection to leverage a better deal.

All AJ fights will be PPV. Just like Fury’s (even when he fought Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin) fights. For me the undercard is pretty good (no idea how Ashfaq has got on it considering he fought recently and lost) but just a bit annoyed at them keeping the price at £25.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday on AXS and StubHub, priced between £100 and £1,000.

[Cyclops]

Pulev has a chance here. He lets his hands go and punishes mistakes opponents make. He's not the kind of guy to take any risks in the ring at all. His defense didn't hold up against Wlad and he was a sitting duck for the left hook. It doesn't really look like he's changed much defensively so he could get done again by left hooks in this fight but if it's a long range boxing match then I think Pulev has the jab/feints/speedy 1-2 to be competitive.

I honestly think there is a case for Pulev to be AJ's second hardest fight "on paper" behind Klitchsko - I think it is very close with the three P's - Parker, Povetkin and Pulev at their stages in their career for the hardest "on paper" fight.

I agree with this. Look at how easily Pulev beat Chisora and Hughie. The casuals might not see anything at all in Pulev but he's actually still pretty decent. Joshua doing a number on him would be highly impressive to me, and if Pulev comes in with some ambition I wouldn't be surprised to see him giving AJ trouble.

[Spud]

I fully understand a fighter has to fight his mandatories ... but to charge a PPV fee over this load of b*llocks is taking the p*ss out of the fans.

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would accuse Mr Hearn of rinsing the fans into purchasing PPV to rhe maximum on Sky before it is announced his complete commitment to DAZN and thus his departure from Sky.

He won’t leave Sky. Matchroom are heavy interlinked with them on several different sports but I’m sure they’ll use the DAZN connection to leverage a better deal.

All AJ fights will be PPV. Just like Fury’s (even when he fought Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin) fights. For me the undercard is pretty good (no idea how Ashfaq has got on it considering he fought recently and lost) but just a bit annoyed at them keeping the price at £25.

Sorry disagree I think he will leave ... Eddie behind the mask in my view is ruthless

[dbf]

I fully understand a fighter has to fight his mandatories ... but to charge a PPV fee over this load of b*llocks is taking the p*ss out of the fans.

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would accuse Mr Hearn of rinsing the fans into purchasing PPV to rhe maximum on Sky before it is announced his complete commitment to DAZN and thus his departure from Sky.

He won’t leave Sky. Matchroom are heavy interlinked with them on several different sports but I’m sure they’ll use the DAZN connection to leverage a better deal.

All AJ fights will be PPV. Just like Fury’s (even when he fought Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin) fights. For me the undercard is pretty good (no idea how Ashfaq has got on it considering he fought recently and lost) but just a bit annoyed at them keeping the price at £25.

Sorry disagree I think he will leave ... Eddie behind the mask in my view is ruthless

Agree with Spud. Sky not as invested in Boxing as when Barney Francis was at the helm. No longer recognized as its own department, swallowed up into mulitsports. Never mind the spin from Sky and Eddie, DAZN are going to disrupt the market and they will pay big for AJ. Hearn knows this and will always allow AJ the best deal therefore if he wants to stay with AJ and AJ goes to DAZN Eddie will follow.

What will happen to Matchroom's other sports though? I presume Matchroom can work across broadcasters (they already do Sky and ITV etc).