You remember me mentioning how absurd the upcoming WBC eliminator between Eleider Alvarez and Lucian Bute was? It’s only gotten weirder.

Yvon Michel and co. today announced that the “mega-showdown,” which takes place on February 24th in Quebec City’s Videotron Centre, will be distributed worldwide on pay-per-view for the “suggested retail price” of $29.95.

In Canada, ShawTV has it for $54.99/$59.99 SD/HD, as does Canal Indigo. The named providers in America, like DirecTV, Vubiquity, and DISH, do not have the prices listed online at the moment.

Even if the suggested price is in Canadian dollars, which would make for just under $23 USD, it’s absurd that they’d charge this much, especially since they’ve yet to announce the accompanying fights despite being fifteen days out. I get that Bute is still a draw in the Great White North but still.

I can’t even justify this from an entertainment standpoint. Alvarez is many things, but crowd-pleasing is not one of them. Seven of his last nine fights have gone the distance and Bute has just one finish since 2011, although he did acquit himself well against James DeGale.

I don’t get it.