Later this month, Liam “Beefy” Smith will defend his WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship against Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It has now been announced that the fight will be available as an online pay-per-view, streaming to a broad range of devices.
Pay-per-view revenue is big business for combat sports — last month’s blockbuster clash between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at UFC 202 broke company records by amassing 1.65 million buys, according to a report from MMAFighting. However, it’s clear that the traditional pay-per-view model needs to be tweaked to reflect the demands of a modern audience.
Fight fans will happily pay top dollar for an HD feed of a hotly anticipated bout, but traditional pay-per-view broadcasts limit the action to the buyer’s television set. Legendary boxer Oscar De La Hoya looks set to interrupt that standard with the online streaming options being offered for the Canelo-Smith fight via his company, Golden Boy Promotions.
Fans can buy a virtual ticket to the bout for $65, securing access to an online feed of the fight that will be accessible via a web portal. The fact that it’s browser-based means that the stream will be available across PCs, tablets, and smartphones. A lower bitrate stream will be available for users on 3G and 4G connections.
“Our premium platform is designed with the boxing fan in mind,” said De La Hoya in a statement to press. “Our goal is to give fans access beyond the ring in a way that enriches their on-line viewing experience throughout fight night.”
Canelo vs. Smith is scheduled for September 17, as part of a card that will also see “King” Gabriel Rosado meet Willie Monroe Jr. for the vacant WBO Intercontinental Middleweight Title. Virtual tickets are available now via Golden Boy PPV.
