The exhibition match featuring Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. has found its pay-per-view distributors around the world.
FITE announced that it landed the exclusive U.S. and Canadian digital rights to carry the event on Nov. 28. The PPV can be purchased digitally for $49.99 via TysonOnTriller.com, FITE.TV or any of the FITE’s OTT platforms on mobile devices and smart TVs.
BT Sport Box Office pay-per-view will be the distributor in the UK for the fight. The price has not yet been determined.
A digital press conference officially announcing the eight-round exhibition will take place Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. It will be hosted by ESPN’s MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.
The match, set to take place without fans with two-minute rounds at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., will begin at 8 p.m. ET. and feature three separate boxing matches, including: Badou Jack vs. Blake McKernan, Viddal Riley vs. Rashad Coulter and YouTuber Jake Paul vs. three-time NBA Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson.
A preliminary card will show three other boxing matches featuring Jamaine Ortiz vs. Nahir Albright, Irvin Gonzalez Jr. vs. Edward Vasquez and Juiseppe Cusumano vs. Nick Jones. The show will also feature musical performances from artists that have yet to be announced. Triller is backed by a slew of entertainers, including Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Future, The Weeknd and Pitbull.
According to a July report from CNBC, Triller paid "upward of $50 million" for the rights to carry the event.
"The Tyson vs. Jones fight is going to be one of those iconic brawls people will be talking about for decades," said Michael Weber, COO of FITE. "Triller and FITE are the perfect pair to deliver a flawless, no-filler fan experience worthy of this moment."
“Triller has always been about shaking things up and pursuing our motto, ‘You do you,’” said Triller chairman Bobby Sarnevesht. “No one embodies that motto more than Mike Tyson. We’re thrilled to be working with Tyson and Legends Only League, Jones Jr., this amazing group of athletes, and FITE to present this historic event.”
In the press release announcing the deal, FITE says it has 2.6 million registered users, and that it’s streamed over 3,500 events in the last five years, including PPV events from Top Rank, PBC, Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing.
Tik Tok rival Triller, meanwhile, has 250 million downloads.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com.