Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel DuBois: Shockingly low PPV costs revealed

Turki Alalshikh was serious.

The poster boy and face of Riyadh Season recently spoke about his intention to reduce the cost of pay-per-view broadcasts of combat sports events in order to increase viewership and combat piracy. He has taken the first big step with the September 21 event in London, which will be headlined by Anthony Joshua and Daniel DuBois.

According to PPV.com, fans in the United States can purchase the fight for $19.99. In case you don't know how big that discount is, consider that the September 14 Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga fight costs $89.99 on the platform and Noche UFC, which takes place on the same date, costs fans who are ESPN+ subscribers $69.99.

The price cut was the ultimate move by Alalshikh and Riyadh Season to keep its promises, and it appears to have come in the wake of a disagreement with one of the Saudis' newest business partners.

Riyadh Season sponsors Noche UFC and the MMA promoter's CEO Dana White was asked about Alalshikh's suggestion to reduce the cost of PPVs. White seemed unconvinced by Alalshikh's idea, instead saying the real way to deal with piracy is to “prosecute people for theft.”

It will be interesting to see if all the Riyadh Season shows have this reduced PPV price. The next big event after the Joshua-DuBois card is on October 12th. This fight card will be headlined by the undisputed light heavyweight championship between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, and co-headlined by Shakur Stevenson taking on Joe Cordina on Matchroom Boxing.

If Riyadh Season changes its fight card pricing permanently, it will be interesting to see how or if the UFC adjusts its pricing in the future. In case you don't already know, here's a look at the entire September 21 fight card from Wembley Stadium in London.

• Daniel Dubois (c) vs. Anthony Joshua for the IBF heavyweight title
• Anthony Cacace (c) vs. Josh Warrington for the IBF super featherweight title
• Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson for the interim WBO light heavyweight title
• Liam Smith vs Josh Kelly: Middleweights
• Mark Chamberlain vs Josh Padley: Lightweights

The event will be available via PPV on DAZN and PPV.com. Cacace is coming off a surprise TKO victory over Joe Cordina in his last fight for the title. Warrington, 33, is a former featherweight champion who has lost his last two fights. He is moving up to 130 pounds to pursue another world title shot.

A loss to Cacace could destroy his career, as no one knows if and when he will get another chance to fight for a title.

The fight between Buatsi and Hutchinson could create some fireworks. I spoke to Buatsi in August to prepare for the fight and he has been working hard to prepare for it. He is one of the most personable fighters in the sport and he knows how important the fight for the interim light heavyweight title against the confident Hutchinson will be.

In Great Britain, Smith-Kelly is also an interesting duel between two very popular veterans.

If there is any doubt as to how important this card is for England and boxing in general, take a look at Guy Ritchie's promotional short film that came out on September 4th.

This video gives the term a whole new meaning; it's going to be a movie. Look for fight week coverage for Joshua-DuBois, Alvarez-Berlanga and Noche UFC.