Five fights which broke boxing’s previous PPV records

Take a look at these five fights which brought in unprecedented pay-per-view revenue, just as the Mayweather vs Pacquiao bout is destined to.

There is no doubt that Mayweather versus Pacquiao will be the highest grossing pay-per-view boxing match of all time, but box office records are made to be broken and history suggests that eventually a fight will come along which can surpass even this marquee matchup. At the time these five fights all brought in unprecedented pay-per-view (PPV) revenue, just as Mayweather vs Pacquiao seems destined to.

1 Mike Tyson vs Peter McNeeley August 19, 1995 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Generated $63 million (equivalent to about $98m today) in PPV sales from 1.52 million sales

McNeeley was not exactly a household name, but this was Mike Tyson’s first fight in four years and there was tremendous anticipation surrounding his return. In the end McNeeley lasted just 89 seconds with his manager running into the ring to try to save his boxer from sustaining further damage.

2 Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield June 28, 1997 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Generated $100m (equivalent to about $145m today) in PPV sales from 1.99 million sales

This rematch was eagerly anticipated because Holyfield had pulled off a major upset by stopping Tyson seven months earlier. It ended in ignominy when Tyson was disqualified and subsequently fined $3m for biting his opponent’s ear.

3 Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson August 6, 2002 The Pyramid, Memphis

Generated $106.9m (equivalent to about $140m today) in PPV sales from 1.95 million sales

Tyson’s status as a convicted rapist meant he was unable to get a licence in many states, which explains why this fight ended up in Memphis rather than Las Vegas. It was marred by a press conference brawl but ultimately Lewis won by ninth round KO. An up-and-coming young fighter called Manny Pacquiao was on the undercard.

4 Floyd Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya May 5, 2007 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Generated $136m (equivalent to about US$155m today) in PPV sales from 2.45 milion sales

This fight holds the current record for the most PPV sales, although it brought in slightly less PPV revenue than Mayweather’s subsequent match with Alvarez. Oscar De La Hoya was the biggest name in boxing at the time but Mayweather beat him by majority decision after 12 rounds, which did not quite live up to the immense expectation.

5 Floyd Mayweather vs Saul Alvarez September 9, 2013 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Generated $150m (equivalent to about $152m today) in PPV sales from 2.2 million PPV sales

This was Mayweather’s highest grossing fight to date, partly because the PPV price was raised to a higher range of between $64.95 and $74.95. Both fighters were undefeated going into the contest, but it was the American rather than the Mexican who was awarded a split-decision win.

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