by David P. Greisman - As far as pay-per-views go, we’ve never spent more — but we’ve definitely received worse.
In reality, we don’t yet know what we’ll actually receive on Sept. 14 beyond a bout between Canelo Alvarez and Floyd Mayweather. Theirs is a card that pairs the most popular fighters in their respective countries and features them in the headline match of what will be the biggest event of the year.
How big an event, and how good of one, is still to be determined.
Two things are for certain:
First, Alvarez-Mayweather is no different than any other pay-per-view. It is a gamble, with boxing fans hardcore and casual spending their money without knowing whether the undercard and feature fights will be dramatic, entertaining and notable, or dreary, boring and quickly forgotten. But the personalities and pedigrees of the main event fighters alone make the show newsworthy; Mayweather is a future Hall of Famer going for his fourth lineal championship against an undefeated titleholder who is much younger and naturally heavier.
And all of the above brings us to the second topic of conversation: Those involved in the pay-per-view are seeking to break records, and they are pulling out all of the tops — and enlisting us — to try to break them.
It’s already expected to be the most lucrative boxing match ever in terms of the box office revenue. Tickets, priced at $2,000, $1,500, $1,000, $600 and $350, sold out promptly (and a significant number were soon seen on the secondary market). Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions told Dan Rafael of ESPN.com that the live gate would come out to at least $18,647,000 and could even top $19 million. Either of those figures would exceed the gate of $18,419,200 brought in by the 2007 fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather. [Click Here To Read More]
In reality, we don’t yet know what we’ll actually receive on Sept. 14 beyond a bout between Canelo Alvarez and Floyd Mayweather. Theirs is a card that pairs the most popular fighters in their respective countries and features them in the headline match of what will be the biggest event of the year.
How big an event, and how good of one, is still to be determined.
Two things are for certain:
First, Alvarez-Mayweather is no different than any other pay-per-view. It is a gamble, with boxing fans hardcore and casual spending their money without knowing whether the undercard and feature fights will be dramatic, entertaining and notable, or dreary, boring and quickly forgotten. But the personalities and pedigrees of the main event fighters alone make the show newsworthy; Mayweather is a future Hall of Famer going for his fourth lineal championship against an undefeated titleholder who is much younger and naturally heavier.
And all of the above brings us to the second topic of conversation: Those involved in the pay-per-view are seeking to break records, and they are pulling out all of the tops — and enlisting us — to try to break them.
It’s already expected to be the most lucrative boxing match ever in terms of the box office revenue. Tickets, priced at $2,000, $1,500, $1,000, $600 and $350, sold out promptly (and a significant number were soon seen on the secondary market). Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions told Dan Rafael of ESPN.com that the live gate would come out to at least $18,647,000 and could even top $19 million. Either of those figures would exceed the gate of $18,419,200 brought in by the 2007 fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather. [Click Here To Read More]
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