Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather To Earn $180 Million From Fight With Manny Pacquiao
Seasoned boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is predicted to take home a whopping sum of $180 million from his monumental fight with Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, slated for May 2 this year.
Earlier predictions estimated Mayweather’s earnings to amount to $120 million, but recent estimates show that there has been a significant increase as the date of the fight is nearing. Although his opponent, Pacquiao, agreed to a 60-40 purse split, Pacquiao will be raking in a substantial amount of $100 million.
“For whatever it’s worth, the build-up over these years has certainly enhanced the fight,” promoter Bob Arum explained.
“Everybody knows about it now, even people who don’t follow boxing. Plus we have a good economy, unlike in 2009 when people were out of work and didn’t have the money to spend.”
The widely anticipated fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao will generate an approximated revenue of more than $400 million, which is a new record in the boxing industry. Based on the numbers that the fight is going to pocket, this bout is considered to be the biggest fight in boxing history thus far.
The live gate at the MGM Grand Garden Arena is expected to yield $74 million from the sale of 15,000 tickets. This amount is more than three times higher than the revenue made by Mayweather’s fight with Canelo Alvarez, which previously held the record of generating the highest live gate revenue in Nevada boxing history with $20,003,150.
Tickets to the Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match will be priced from a staggering $1,500 for upper deck tickets to $7,500 for ringside seats. They will also be quite difficult to score, as only a few number of tickets will be sold to the public.
The fight is also foreseen to break records in terms of pay-per-view revenue. Last Tuesday, promoters announced a deal with Sky Sports to air the bout in England and various parts of Europe. This is only one of the many negotiations that will garner a total revenue of about $35 million from foreign rights.
It is unclear as to how many people will pay for the $100 pay-per-view in the United States, but with all the heat and excitement building up, a record breaking number is anticipated. The last fight that generated the highest revenue in terms of pay-per-view in the US was Mayweather’s match with Oscar De La Hoya. In 2007, it generated 2.44 million buys, which promoters predict will be easily topped by the upcoming bout.
[Image via Getty Images]
