Media company Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent) has acquired exclusive rights in the Nordic region to the forthcoming heavyweight world boxing title fight between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr.
Nent will show the fight on December 7 on its Viaplay streaming service as a pay-per-view event.
Four world titles will be at stake during the fight, which is being held in Dirriyah, Saudi Arabia. It comes after Ruiz defeated Joshua in New York back in June.
The bout will be priced at DKK499 (€67/$74) in Denmark, €49.95 ($54.20) in Finland, NOK499 (€48.40/$53.30) in Norway and SEK499 (€45.80/$50.40) in Sweden.
Nent has shown every one of Joshua’s major title matches on Viaplay.
Meanwhile, promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that last weekend’s fight between YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul pulled in more pay-per-view buys than Joshua’s defeat against Ruiz earlier in the year.
KSI and Paul first met at the Manchester Arena in August 2018 in a fight that ended in a draw. KSI defeated Paul in the rematch at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, with the fight shown live on DAZN, Sky Sports Box Office and Fite TV.
Hearn told Sirius XM’s Fight Nation: “The first fight did 1.2 million pay-per-view buys globally. This was much, much bigger this time around.
“It’s the biggest pay-per-view in the UK of the year so far. That includes the first Joshua-Ruiz Jr fight from America. This fight was cheaper, was half the price of that.”
Hearn added: “I believe DAZN will announce some numbers this week but I understand it was the most-viewed fight on DAZN so far. It was a big subscription driver as well.
“It wasn’t just those two key territories, it was all those other little territories. When we look at the breakdown on Fite TV – Australia, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Europe, Africa – it was everywhere.
“You don’t realise the audience these guys have. They brought our sport to reach new ground and reach new territories, new demographics and new markets.”
Around 11,000 fans are also believed to have watched the KSI-Paul fight on an illegal stream – via the reflection in a YouTuber’s glasses. The YouTuber filmed himself watching the fight and the action was reflected onto his glasses, allowing subscribers to view the fight in a novel way free of charge.