Tszyu vs. Fundora PBC Card ‘Just Available In The United States’ Via Amazon Prime Video
Mar 26, 2024 • 3:58 AM ET
Consider this the equivalent of a new restaurant's "soft opening."
So while Amazon’s Prime Video makes its U.S. debut Saturday with a pay-per-view card headlined by Tim Tszyu’s pursuit of a second world-title belt against Sebastian Fundora at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the rest of the world will have to access the bout by their own means.
A Prime Video spokesperson confirmed to BoxingScene Monday that the streaming service’s pay-per-views, for now, are “just available in the United States, with the potential to add more territories in the future.”
How much later is the question of the hour, and the spokesperson said international viewers should continue to check the Premier Boxing Champions website for global listings.
A global-television executive who handles foreign distribution of fights for PBC did not immediately respond to messages left by BoxingScene.
In Tszyu’s native Australia, for instance, an existing foreign broadcast arrangement with Fox will allow the bout to be seen there.
Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) is defending his WBO belt and fighting for the vacant WBC strap against Fundora (20-1-1, 13 KOs), a unique, 6-feet-5 ½ junior middleweight (154 pounds) with an 80-inch reach. The card’s co-main is Rolly Romero’s 140-pound title defense against Mexico’s Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
The ultimate beauty of PBC’s alignment with Prime Video is that beyond it’s powerful reach in the U.S., it intends to also connect the fights globally on the same platform.
The next scheduled Prime Video pay-per-view is undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez defending his four belts against Mexican countryman and unbeaten former 154-pound champion Jaime Munguia on May 4 – Cinco de Mayo weekend.
After that, boxing officials have reported a June 15 pay-per-view is coming with Gervonta “Tank” Davis versus Frank Martin and David Benavidez versus Oleksandr Gvozdyk heading that card.
The Prime Video spokesperson said the new “PBC Championship Series” cards of non-pay-per-view bouts with “up-and-coming fighters” will debut later this year on Prime Video in the U.K. and other countries.
The date for launch has not yet been finalized.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
