Boxing fans tuning into the Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez pay-per-view (PPV) extravaganza this Saturday night just might be helping it crack the all-time revenue record for such things. In fact, according to Multichannel.com, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer expects exactly that:
“If you divide that number by the PPV price which we have here, we’re looking at a little below 2 million PPV buys to break the gross [revenue] record,” he said. "I am convinced it will be broken."
The price, of course, is the deciding factor in such an equation. Where the previous record holder for total PPV revenue, Mayweather’s 2007 bout against Oscar De La Hoya, was calculated by multiplying the number of buys times a $54.95 purchase price, this weekend’s event will be sold in two tiers, the lowest of which will cost fans $10 more. Fight fans purchasing Mayweather-Canelo will pay either $64.95 for the Standard Definition broadcast of the event or $74.95 for the High Definition version.
In short, Schaefer is on to something.
Others are in agreement. According to a report by BoxingScene.com’s David Greisman, Mayweather’s chief advisor, Leonard Ellerbe, also believes the quick math is in favor of the record being broken. From the report:
“Most homes were just standard definition in 2007,” said Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions. “Obviously now, when you look at the cable and satellite systems, about 80 percent of the homes are in high definition now.”
Greisman goes on to note that even Mayweather believes the PPV revenue record will fall on Saturday night, even if the fight does not eclipse the PPV record of 2.5 million buys that his 2007 bout against De La Hoya set, too.
“We still can break the record and we don’t have to do 2.5,” Mayweather said on a Sept. 4 media conference call.
The math adds up for total revenue, but can fight fans also expect over 2.5 million buys? Not quite.
Look, Mayweather is the biggest star in the sport. Heck, he might be the biggest star of any sport. According to Forbes, after all, the gifted pugilist is the highest paid athlete in the world today. That’s right: Mayweather makes more money than Tiger Woods or Lebron James, and he does so without earning a single cent from endorsements.
But Money May is only one half of the equation.
Sure, rising star Canelo Alvarez has title belts, a legion of rabid supporters and a glossy, undefeated record. He even might be capable of pulling the upset, despite 46 of 56 polled industry experts saying otherwise over at TheSweetScience.com.
But Canelo Alvarez is no Oscar De La Hoya. Not yet. Where De La Hoya faced Floyd at the peak of his earning power, and where the two men met at just the right time to shatter box office records together, the 23-year-old Alvarez isn’t quite there yet.
And before you argue the other way, Canelo is not a younger version of Mayweather yet either. By his 2007 bout against De La Hoya, Mayweather had already tested the PPV waters against high profile fighters Arturo Gatti and Zab Judah as well as linear welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir.
Alvarez?
His biggest sell to date was the impressive win over Austin Trout last April in San Antonio. Sure, the redheaded phenomenon helped packed in over 40,000 screaming fight fans at the venue, but the bout wasn’t PPV worthy and was broadcast to regular Showtime subscribers. And anyone who believes his 2012 undercard bout against the faded Shane Mosley moved the needle on buys for the Mayweather-Cotto PPV is just plain crazy.
So, while it should break the overall revenue record, do not expect Mayweather-Canelo to reach or exceed 2.5 million total buys. But don’t fret over it either.
Because Mayweather vs. Canelo is the biggest fight of the year, and that’s good enough.
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