Floyd Mayweather is nicknamed "Money" for a reason. The undefeated boxer put together another brilliant display in his victory over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and was rewarded handsomely for his 12 rounds of dominance.
The record books will list it was a majority decision because one judge somehow found a way to call the bout a draw. In reality, Mayweather was in complete control throughout and certainly earned whatever the final dollar figure is for the event.
Leading up to the fight, Dan Rafael of ESPN reported that Mayweather was guaranteed more than $40 million before a single punch was thrown on Saturday night. The amount represented an all-time record, showing that boxing is still alive and well, at least for big bouts:
Quite simply, that's a huge number for one fight against a talented yet unproven opponent. ESPN's Darren Rovell broke it down to show exactly how impressive the haul was for the five-division world champion:
Amazingly, that's not the end of it. Mayweather will earn even more money as the pay-per-view situation gets completely sorted out.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports reported that the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, Leonard Ellerbe, was hoping that the final figure the undefeated superstar would receive would approach or surpass $100 million:
He drew out the word whole for several seconds, and arched his eyebrows and beamed as he spoke. Mayweather is not just going to add just a few million extra dollars if the pay-per-view does well, according to Ellerbe.
"Listen, if this fight goes through the roof, Floyd Mayweather could make $100 million in this fight as sure as we're standing here talking," Ellerbe said.
It's a mind-boggling number.
Whether that's a realistic goal or just promoter speak is unclear, but it illustrates how lucrative the sport can be for its top stars.
On the flip side, Alvarez wasn't guaranteed nearly as much as his more established opponent, but he still walked into a very nice payday. Rafael said the base amount was $5 million but that the final figure should be closer to $12 million:
Alvarez is a rising star. Sure, Saturday night's fight proved he wasn't on the same level as Mayweather quite yet. He failed to make much of an impact and was fortunate that one judge saw enough from him to call it a draw.
But his future remains bright, and there are plenty of big paydays ahead.
Going up against a great champion like Mayweather will serve as a valuable experience once he gets past the initial disappointment of the loss. Once he bounces back, he can start building his earning potential back up.
All told, it was a lucrative fight for both sides, and that's a good sign for boxing.
Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment