Fansided

30 little-known facts about Floyd Mayweather Jr.

By Zachary Alapi

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Floyd Mayweather Jr. reacts to the crowd during the Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Conor McGregor World Press Tour event at SSE Arena on July 14, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Floyd Mayweather Jr. reacts to the crowd during the Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Conor McGregor World Press Tour event at SSE Arena on July 14, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) /
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12. Mayweather’s fight against Manny Pacquiao set pay-per-view records

When Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally met in May of 2015, they were about five years too late to their own party. Mayweather-Pacquiao carried peak appeal circa 2009 when Pacquiao was running roughshod over the likes of Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. Both men were in their athletic primes and clearly the two best fighters of their generation; pound-for-pound debates between Mayweather and Pacquiao supporters were furious, and the hope that this score would be settled dominated boxing headlines for years.

But instead of fighting when it made the most sense, Mayweather and Pacquiao strung fans along, building anticipation to the point of visceral annoyance. And yet, despite the fact that Mayweather-Pacquiao was unanimously viewed as an awful fight, it still managed to break every established financial record in boxing.

Here’s the financial breakdown, courtesy of BoxRec.com:

"The fight destroyed all-time boxing records for pay-per-view buys, pay-per-view revenue, and live gate. $72,198,500 was generated from the sale of 16,219 tickets at the MGM Grand, and more than $400 million was generated from an estimated 4.4 million pay-per-view buys. The 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya — also at the MGM Grand — was the previous record holder for pay-per-view buys (2.48 million), and the 2013 fight between Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez was the previous record holder for both pay-per-view revenue ($150 million) and live gate ($20,003,150 from the sale of 16,146 tickets at the MGM Grand). Additional revenue from Mayweather vs. Pacquiao included:"

"A record of approximately $40 million from international television rights from 175 countries."

"A record $13.2 million from sponsorships, including a record $5.6 million paid by Tecate as the title beer sponsor."

"Nearly $19 million in national closed circuit revenue from tickets sold at more than 5,000 bars, restaurants and commercial establishments."

"Another $6.9 million in closed circuit revenue from a record 46,000 tickets sold (at $150 apiece) at MGM Resorts International properties in Las Vegas."

"Merchandise sales approaching several million dollars. 25"

"More than 10,000 tickets were sold for the weigh-in at $10 each. All proceeds from the weigh-in tickets were donated to Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (Pacquiao’s charity) and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation (Mayweather’s charity)"

In many respects, Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao created the conditions for Mayweather’s upcoming bout against Conor McGregor. The fight redefined success, privileging raw earnings over the integrity of competition. Although Mayweather-Pacquiao, even past its expiry date, was a far greater matchup than Mayweather-McGregor, an appetite has been created for clashes of celebrity above all else.

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