Boxing: Mayweather-Pacquiao fight shatters record for PPV buys

NEW YORK - The Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao mega fight generated an eye-watering US$400 million (S$533 million) in US revenues fueled by more than 4.4 million pay-per-view buys, making it the highest-grossing fight in boxing history, organizers announced Tuesday.

The welterweight world championship showdown, which Mayweather won by a unanimous decision, may have failed to live up to its hype in the ring, but it did meet the goal of becoming the richest fight in boxing history.

It nearly doubled the previous record of 2.48 million buys from a 2007 Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya fight and also crushed the record by more three times for a live boxing gate, American cable networks Home Box Office Inc. and Showtime Networks Inc. said in a joint news release.

It generated more than US$71 million from the sale of 16,219 tickets at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino for a fight between boxing's two biggest stars that was five years in the making.

The previous record for a live gate was US$20 million for Mayweather's 2013 fight at the MGM's Grand Garden Arena against Mexico's Canelo Alvarez. That fight also held the record for US pay-per-view revenue at US$150 million.

Organisers said Tuesday that by the time they add up all the revenue from overseas pay-per-view buys, close circuit, sponsorship money and merchandise sales that the fight's gross revenues would top US$500 million.