Boxing News 2015: Mayweather-Pacquiao Projected PPV Buys To Reach More Than 5.6M

The May 2 title fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao might have disappointed many boxing fans, but it was a big success in terms of the number of pay-per-view buys it inspired. The latest data show it accounted for purchases by more than 5 million unique subscribers -- a new boxing TV record.

The projected PPV figure is 5.625 million, Yahoo Sports boxing writer Kevin Iole reported, with the number derived from probable sales from cable and satellite systems plus telephone companies’ subscriptions.

For months leading up to the bout, there was no question that Mayweather-Pacquiao would rake in a record number of PPV buys -- and break previous revenue records. Despite the $99 and $89 price tags, respectively, for high-definition and standard-definition versions, both PPV records were smashed. The previous record for total PPV buys was the 2.48 million units for the 2007 Mayweather fight with Oscar De La Hoya, while the previous revenue record was the more than $150 million raised by the 2012 Mayweather fight against Canelo Alvarez.

Those two previous Mayweather fights accounted for a combined 4.78 million subscribers and combined $286 million in revenue. The Mayweather-Pacquiao bout, meanwhile, exceeded the combined performance of those fights -- tallying 5.6 million PPV buys and more than $500 million in revenue, or about double the combined revenue of the two previous fights.

New figures for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight do not include final figures for the live-gate ticket sales in Las Vegas, which are also projected to be a record.

Mayweather Jr. (48-0-0, 26 KOs) defeated Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) via a 12-round unanimous decision, with judges’ scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112. They walk away from their “Fight of the Century” as two of the highest paid boxers in history.

To contact author of this article, email j.quizon@IBTimes.com.au.