British fans have largely scoffed at the pay-per-view fee for Subriel Matias vs Dalton Smith, with many of them refusing to part way with their hard-earned cash.
The WBC world title fight takes place this Saturday at the Barclays Center, New York, where the lion’s share of fans are expected to express their support for defending super-lightweight champion Matias.
This is because the Puerto Rican’s promoter, Fresh Productions, outbid Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing for the right to stage this contest back in September.
As a result, many of those supporting mandatory challenger Smith, a Sheffield-based contender, can simply not justify the hefty expenses that come with a trip to Brooklyn.
Instead, they must pay a total of £41.95, via streaming platform PPV.com, should they wish to watch the 28-year-old’s maiden world title shot from the comfort of their own home.
In response to this considerable price point, an army of fans have expressed their utter bewilderment and disgust via social media, with many commenting on a recent X post by Boxing King Media.
“Madness. It should be £20 at the most. I’d have actually paid that.”
“No chance will I be paying that much for this. Love the fight but anything more than £20 is absurd.”
“I doubt even his [Smith’s] mum is going to pay £41.95.”
Away from the pay-per-view controversy, this event has also received a tremendous amount of backlash due to Matias’ failed Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency test in November.
The 33-year-old, who claimed his WBC title with a points victory over Alberto Puello last July, tested positive for Ostarine, a banned substance, but was later cleared to proceed with his fight against Smith.
This is because the concentration of Ostarine in Matias’ A and B samples was below 0.1 ng/ml, the threshold used by the New York State Athletic Commission.