Dalton Smith could become Britain’s latest world champion on Saturday, but it will come at a cost for fight fans.
Smith challenges WBC super lightweight world champion, Subriel Matias in the early hours of Sunday morning at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Not only will fans have to stay up until at least 4am GMT to watch the bout, they will be paying more than double what they would usually for a pay-per-view.
Matias’ promotional company, Fresh Productions won the purse bids to stage the fight, outbidding Smith’s promoter, Eddie Hearn Matchroom with a winning bid of $1.9m.
If Hearn had won the bid, the bout would have likely landed in the UK on subscription-based channel, DAZN.
Fans will now have to fork out a whopping £41.95 to see if Smith can become Britain’s fifth active world champion.
The clash will be streamed on PPV.com and will cost US fight fans $59.99.
The bout is far dearer than the £19.99 fans paid to watch rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma knock out Dillian Whyte in August or the £19.95 price for the first bout between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn in April.
Even the rematch only set supporters back £24.99.
The price for Matias-Smith did not go down well among fans on social media on Monday.
One commented: “£42! Nah you’re alright pal.
“I think I’ll have an early night and catch the highlights.”
Another wrote: “Sadly, at this price it’s a definite no from me.”
Another said: “£41.95. Games gone. They’ll be lucky to do 50 buys in the UK.”
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The bout itself has been marred with controversy after Matias tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine on November 9.
However, it has been permitted to proceed by both the WBC and the New York State Athletic Commission with the levels of Ostarine deemed below the threshold used in the state.
“The New York State Athletic Commission is aware that Mr Matias, who is currently licensed, has received an adverse analytic finding from VADA concerning an out of competition test,” the commission told BBC Sport.
“The reported concentration was below the applicable threshold used by multiple jurisdictions, including Nevada, California, and New York.”
Matias, 33, won the title with a majority decision success over Alberto Puello in July, while Sheffield’s Smith defended his WBC Silver belt last time out with a unanimous decision victory over Mathieu Germain.
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