Dana White made a statement regarding the Floyd Mayweather Pay Per View record, which World Boxing News can confirm as flat-out wrong.
White discussed a possible return to the octagon for Conor McGregor, and inevitably the name Floyd Mayweather came up.
Asked questions regarding how boxing and MMA continue to get pitted together by reaching media and statements by fighters who know full well half the fights are not competitive, White gave an honest answer in one respect.
However, WBN can categorically state that his remarks on the Mayweather vs. McGregor Pay Per View sales are dead wrong.
“When Conor and Floyd fought, it took on a life of its own. Everywhere I went, people asked me if those two were going to fight. It just kept building, building and building,” White told Sky Sports before putting his foot in his mouth when stating, “It ended up being the biggest pay-per-view ever.”
FLOYD MAYWEATHER PPV RECORD
Sorry, Dana, it wasn’t – in any capacity whatsoever. Here’s why.
In the United States, Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor sold 4.3 million units. Almost 5.2 million got recorded worldwide from Showtime, Sky Sports in the UK, and other outlets.
On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao sold 4.6 million US PPVs. The ‘biggest Pay-Per-View ever’ took the top spot with almost 5.8 million across the globe.
Therefore, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao is by far the ‘biggest Pay-Per-View’ of all time based on sales alone without the need for inflation calculation.
BOXING vs. MMA
Meanwhile, White downgraded the current chatter on Fury vs. Ngannou and Usman vs. Canelo.
“Something could come along, but the whole Boxing vs. MMA thing is silly,” he pointed out.
On the return of McGregor, White concluded: “Conor is not even ready yet. Conor has still not healed. When Conor comes back, ready to train and fight, let’s see what the landscape is and figure out who’s next.
“When he’s ready to fight, he’ll let us know. He’s coming into town here in the next month, so we’re going to get together and talk.
“The list is right here. The best ten guys in the world, and Conor is number nine. There’s the list.”
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Founding editor of World Boxing News since 2010. WBN has over one billion views on all platforms.
Attending over 200 events and scoring over 400 fights, Phil has overseen WBN to a quarter of a million followers on social media.
Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.