Fight of Century to bring in $600M; Mayweather top-paid athlete again
As expected, Floyd Mayweather is the world's highest-paid athlete again and the Fight of the Century is smashing nearly every record.
•
1 min read
If you're someone who dished out close to $100 on pay-per-view to watch the Fight of the Century last month, congratulations are in order -- because it turns out you helped set a new record. Unfortunately, you won't benefit from this record, but you know who will? Floyd Mayweather Jr.
A little over a month after Mayweather handed Manny Pacquiao a decisive defeat in their long-awaited fight, the official numbers are beginning to pour in. And, according to Forbes, the fight is now expected to gross $600 million.
As expected, in order to reach the estimated $600 million figure, the fight broke quite a few boxing records. The records include:
- 4.4 million PPV purchases (it will be more than 4.4 million once all the purchases are counted)
- $73 million total gate
- $13 million in sponsorships
And, as expected, the Fight of the Century helped Mayweather earn the title of "highest-paid athlete in the world." According to Forbes, Mayweather's $300 million in earnings this past year easily broke the previous earnings record set by golfer Tiger Woods in 2008 when Woods earned over $115 million (or $125 million after adjusting for inflation). 2015 marks the third year in the last four that Mayweather has been the highest paid athlete in the world.
Despite losing to Mayweather in the fight, Pacquiao didn't do all too bad financially. Pacquiao brought in $125 million from the Fight of the Century and he landed at the No. 2 spot on the overall list.
So really, did anyone who participated in the Fight of the Century actually lose out? I seriously doubt Pacquiao is complaining at this point.
Head over to Forbes to read the full financial breakdown of the Fight of the Century, and to see the complete list of the highest-paid athletes in the world.
