Strap on Those Gloves! 🥊
Top Earning Boxing Bouts Ever in History
The boxing ring can't help but grab the attention of the world, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he takes a look back at the five most rockin' pay-per-view bouts in the sport's history.
Fisticuffs are the global lingo everyone understands, and every so often, a super-fight appears that surpasses mere boxing and hits numbers that would make your head spin.
From legends like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Rocky Marciano, Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Manny Pacquiao, Tyson Fury, and Canelo Alvarez to the billion-dollar man, Floyd "Money" Mayweather, stands tall as the undefeated king of pay-per-view.
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Mayweather gruzzled his way into all four of the biggest box office bouts of all time. Let's run down the top five highest-earning boxing fights ever:
5: Lennox Lewis v Mike Tyson 🥊
With the dangerously unpredictable Tyson involved, it was no shock when a ruckus broke out at the pre-fight press conference. Chaos ensued, resulting in the heavyweight championship showdown being moved from Las Vegas to the Pyramid Arena in Memphis.
The donnybrook added fuel to the fire, making the heavyweight title shout-out that much more of a can't-miss fight. It generated 1,950,000 pay-per-view buys and $112 million, making it just the second fight after Tyson's rematch against Evander Holyfield in 1997 to break the $100 million mark.
On the night (June 8, 2002), Lewis was in top form, the Brit putting the smackdown on "Iron" in the eighth round.
4: Floyd Mayweather v Oscar de la Hoya 🥊
A dream battle that didn't disappoint between the ropes, Mayweather and De La Hoya danced an electric back-and-forth ballet for the capacity crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and 2,480,000 fight fans watching at home on May 5, 2007.
Two legends, little separated between them, put on a classic that generated $136 million. Mayweather earned a split decision win to capture the WBC super welterweight title.
Get Your Bet On: Boxing 💰 ### 3: Floyd Mayweather v Canelo Alvarez 🥊
The September 14, 2013, fight between Mayweather and Alvarez, also at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, was seen as a possible passing of the torch tilt, but "Money" had other plans.
Far from ready to cede his stature as the face of boxing to Canelo, Mayweather led the show and displayed his elusive best as he handed the rising Mexican star his only loss, winning on all three judges' scorecards.
Over 2,200,000 people tuned in on pay-per-view, and the blockbuster brought in a cool $150 million.
2: Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor 🥊
The ultimate crossover fight pitted two-division UFC champion McGregor against Mayweather in what was the former's first and the latter's final professional boxing match.
After an epic world tour to promote the mega-fight, which saw "The Notorious" come out on top in the verbal battle, words gave way to action at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on August 8, 2017. Mayweather weathered an early storm and earned a tenth-round stoppage to remain undefeated.
Both men took home over $100 million each. In all, the Money Fight, as it was billed, pulled in 4,300,000 pay-per-view buys and a whopping $396 million.
1: Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao 🥊
Shrouded in anticipation, the Fight of the Century lived up to its nickname commercially, but as the dream fight came a few years after it should have, it was a tense but ultimately underwhelming affair.
Mayweather employed his defensive mastery and prodded away at "Pac Man" over 12 rounds to claim a unanimous decision victory. An astounding 4,600,000 people tuned in on pay-per-view with the fight grossing a stunning $410 million.
Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. With over 15 years of experience, he has written for various sports publications, including The Fever Media Group, eHowzit, SARugby.com, and Rugby365.com.
Sources:
[1] Boxing Junkie. (2021, January 2). Floyd Mayweather: The most profitable boxer of all time. Retrieved from https://www.boxingjunkie.us/2021/01/02/floyd-mayweather-the-most-profitable-boxer-of-all-time/
[2] Bloomberg. (2017, August 9). Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor: Facts, figures and wild PPV estimate. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-09/money-fight-facts-figures-and-the-wild-ppv-estimate
[3] Forbes. (2019, June 21). Forbes Boxing Rankings: Mayweather, Pacquiao Still Rule, But New Stars Are On The Rise. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/villepakoli/2019/06/21/forbes-boxing-rankings-mayweather-pacquiao-still-rule-but-new-stars-are-on-the-rise/?sh=2d7a9d857533
[4] BoxRec. (n.d.). Pay-per-view. Retrieved from https://www.boxrec.com/ppv.php
In the world of sports, boxing shares a stage with other renowned sports like rugby. (sports, boxing)The boxing ring may captivate the world, but the excitement of a rugby match can ignite passion in a crowd just as fiercely. (rugby, sports)
