This is no small feat when you consider the number of huge closed-circuit and pay-per-view (PPV) bouts that have been broadcast around the world since the 1970s.
The contest was shown in America on the CBS/Showtime Network’s PPV arm, and was promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. The numbers just released indicate that 2.2 million households paid for the event and the revenue alone from that was $150 million.
The live gate of 16,146 fans also pulled in a world record at just over $20 million. The previous mark was about $18.5 million. Now it’s easier to understand how Mayweather was guaranteed a purse of $41.5 million.
Mayweather Promotions claimed these are the kind of numbers they anticipated when they joined forces with CBS/Showtime, and they couldn’t be happier. The company said a lot of hard work went into promoting the fight card, and they thank the fans for supporting it. The promoters felt the combination of the boxers’ appeal as well as the media platforms available led to the record-setting event.
This is nothing new for Mayweather, though, as he also held the previous record for PPV revenue. This was set along with Oscar De La Hoya back in 2007 when $136 million was generated through the sales of 2.48 million PPV orders. So even though his recent bout against Alvarez set a record for revenue, the contest against De La Hoya drew more PPV purchases. That bout also held the previous live gate record.
Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy said he’s happy for the boxers and they’ll earn more money than their guaranteed contracts called for. This means Mayweather could end up making close to $50 million even after taxes and expenses etc are deducted. Schaefer also claimed he’s happy for the sport of boxing and this should give it a boost of confidence.
He added, “One would have to be an idiot to keep saying this is a dying sport like some people have said. This shows you the strength of the sport of boxing and that boxing today continues to deliver huge numbers that very few other sports can deliver in one night.”
When all is said and done, the Mayweather vs Alvarez boxing card should easily gross more than $200 million. This includes the live gate, the PPV in America, the closed-circuit figures, the merchandise, sponsorships, internet revenue streams and the foreign television rights.
Schaefer said records are meant to be broken and he’s sure this mark will be broken in the future. He stated that’s something that motivates him because it means more and more people are becoming interested in boxing, especially when the best boxers in the world meet each other.
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