Mayweather vs. Pacquiao shatter PPV, live gate, overall revenue records

Mayweather Pacquiao face off 2015
Mayweather Pacquiao face off 2015

It was billed as the “Fight of the Century” and while the action in the ring may not have lived up to those expectations when Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally faced each other May 2, the financial numbers sure did.

The total U.S. pay-per-view sales for the megafight reached 4.4 million buys (per the Las Vegas Review-Journal)smashing the former record set by Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 of 2.45 million buys.

Those astronomical numbers generated $400 million, eclipsing the previous record set by Mayweather vs. Saul Alvarez in 2012 of $150 million.

“To be honest, I would have been happy with three million (buys),” Top Rank, Inc.’s Bob Arum told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It ended up being terrific.”

Add those numbers to the highest grossing live gate of all time of around $ 72.2 million, from 16, 219 tickets bought for the bout held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, at a price range of $1,500 up to $10,000.

On top of all that, closed circuit tickets sold at various MGM International properties on The  Strip grossed an additional $6.9 million off of 46,000 tickets sold.

Add it all up and Mayweather vs. Pacquiao grossed $479 million in the United States alone, with a possible $600 million figure possible when overseas PPV numbers roll in.

So with all that said, and the controversy surrounding Pacquiao and his now surgically repaired shoulder, despite Mayweather saying he won’t give Pacman a rematch, these insane numbers would suggest otherwise.

As Mayweather cares about one thing most, that’s money, and there is tons more to be made if the two meet again in the ring next year, especially opening up the under construction MGM/AEG Arena across the street from the MGM.