Floyd Mayweather Jr. was once boxing’s pound-for-pound champion, and now he’s evolving into its pay-per-view king as well.
Mayweather’s victory over Marquez generated an impressive 1 million pay-per-view buys, HBO Sports announced. The robust result confirms Mayweather’s once-debatable superstar status in a sport that thrives on big names in big events.
The bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sept. 19 generated $52 million in pay-per-view revenue at its $49.95 suggested price, making it the highest-performing event this year. It’s just the fifth non-heavyweight event to generate 1 million buys on a list headed by Mayweather’s split-decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, which had a record 2.44 million.