Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao continue to be linked to squaring off again in what would be the most lucrative money-spinning fight of 2019.
Despite massive match-ups being on the horizon, featuring several high-profile stars, ‘MayPac 2’ would blow them all out of the water in the Pay-Per-View stakes.
Canelo Alvarez now competes off PPV. Old rival Gennady Golovkin looks set to follow the Mexican to DAZN.
ESPN have filled the void left by HBO on the paid platform. But even Vasyl Lomachenko against anyone other than Mayweather or Pacquiao would struggle to hit near one million buys.
The first Mayweather v Pacquiao fight, back in 2015, failed to live up to standards. After years of waiting, fans were treated to a one-sided Mayweather exhibition as Pacquiao nursed a shoulder injury he was unable to use painkillers for.
Garnering 4.6m sales, the first installments remains on top in the modern-day purchase stakes.
Fast forward four years, and with Pacquiao on top of the world again, a Mayweather rematch is firmly in the minds of the legends.
Overall, ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali’s famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ clash with George Foreman is the biggest seller of all-time once inflation is taken into consideration.
So what could the MayPac return expect to pull in for Showtime?
Well, Mayweather’s cross-codes encounter with Conor McGregor in 2017 is a clear indication that Pay-Per-View is nowhere near dead.
McGregor helped the ‘Money’ Man draft in 4.4m PPV buys to join the Pacquiao effort in second place on the history list.
A second helping is projected at somewhere in the region of 2.5m to 3m sales, solely down to the fact the pair failed to impress in 2015 before they hit their forties.
The fight remains huge, though. Pacquiao is a god in the Philippines and Mayweather still has millions tuning in to see if he’ll finally lose his undefeated streak.
Mayweather being a couple of years older than the ‘Pacman’ also comes into the equation. At 42, Floyd will definitely have lost some of the illusiveness that was his trademark.
Against Adrien Broner, Pacquiao still looked as sharp as ever, whilst Mayweather was sluggish in his New Year’s Even fight with Tenshin Nasukawa. Granted, Mayweather didn’t have a training camp for three years, which will certainly change for Pacquaio II.
Plenty of people are questioning why the fight is even happening. But at this day and age, and with the money which can be generated, it’s really a no-brainer.
In their twilight years, Mayweather and Pacquiao still have the pulling power to secure a top five spot on the all-time PPV list.
A statistic which ultimately means we are destined to see Mayweather and Pacquiao share a ring again in the coming months.
Top 30 Pay-Per-Views of all-time (with inflation):
1
October 30, 1974: Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman – $510,000,000
2
May 2, 2015: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao – $500,000,000
August 26, 2017: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor – $500,000,000
October 1, 1975: Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III – $500,000,000
5
March 8, 1971: Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier – $300,000,000
6
June 28, 1997: Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield II – $281,000,000
7
May 5, 2007: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. – $200,000,000
8
August 19, 1995: Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley – $177,000,000
9
September 14, 2013: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez – $160,000,000
December 8, 2007: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Ricky Hatton – $160,000,000
11 – 30
11
March 16, 1996: Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson II – $157,000,000
12
June 8, 2002: Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson – $156,000,000
13
November 9, 1996: Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield – $150,000,000
June 27, 1988: Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks – $150,000,000
15
September 27, 1976: Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III – $147,000,000
16
April 19, 1991: Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman – $138,000,000
17
April 6, 1987: Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler – $130,000,000
18
Sep 15, 2018: Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II – $117,000,000
19
December 6, 2008: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao – $116,000,000
20
September 18, 1999: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Félix Trinidad – $110,000,000
21
May 5, 2012: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto – $103,000,000
May 1, 2010: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley – $103,000,000
23
September 7, 1996: Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon – $102,000,000
24
September 16, 2017: Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin – $100,000,000
November 13, 2011: Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez III – $100,000,000
26
September 17, 2011: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Victor Ortiz – $97,000,000
27
May 7, 2011: Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley – $93,000,000
May 2, 2009: Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton – $93,000,000
29
November 14, 2009: Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto – $92,000,000
30
December 8, 2012: Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez IV – $90,000,000
All figures correct as of March 2019. Sourced by Wikipedia from several official boxing announcements.
