How Many Millions Will The Mayweather Canelo Fight Ultimately Rake In?
The days leading up to the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Saul "Canelo" Alvarez fight were filled with speculation as to the winner and the resulting overall profits. Taking place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand on Saturday, the boxing match reached a level of hype usually seen reserved for the Super Bowl. Although known for his quick feet and expert dodging movement, Mayweather wasn't necessarily the top choice to win AT 36-years-old, but in the end Canelo's powerful punches didn't stand a chance. Not only did Mayweather blow his opponent out of the ring, this fight raked in record-beating profits from all corners.
Mayweather took control of the fight the moment the opening bell rang, pounding and dismantling the heavier Canelo. Favored 117-111 and 116-112 on two ringside scorecards, with a third reading 114-114, the champion remains unbeaten in 45 fights. Though he already had a guaranteed paycheck of $41.5M regardless of the outcome (Alvarez was guaranteed $6M), Mayweather could stand to pull in as much as $100M once his portion of the pay-per-view receipts are tallied, according to Mayweather Promotions chief Leonard Ellerbe. Forbes thinks that even if he ends up netting less, let's say $70M, Mayweather's career earnings will still be estimated at around $350M. As the richest athlete around today, Mayweather will only get wealthier after his next four fights, which will be the last of his six-fight deal with Showtime — probably pulling in over $150M from those alone.
The LA Times reported that MGM's 16,500 seats sold out in 24 hours and predicted ticket sales would bring in almost $19.9M — though they actually made $20M. Everyone, including big name celebrities, were desperate to get their hands on tickets, which allowed independent sellers to price them online for as much as $29K. Pay-per-view is also a big factor, predicted to beat the previous record of 2.44M viewers for the 2007 Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya fight.
While the exact number of PPV viewers isn't yet known, the NY Daily News thinks beating the previous record is a pretty safe bet, while CBS News is predicting at least $100M in profits. It will be interesting once all of the numbers are in to see just how much money this fight earned...and whether that number will ultimately stand up to the promotional hype.