JarryPark’s 15 Moments Of ’07 – #2: Box Office Boxing
January 1, 2008
We’re not ready for 2008 just yet. We continue our countdown of the Top 15 Combat Sports Moments of 2007. The list can be found here.
#2: Box Office Boxing
What: Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather rewrite the pay-per-view record books
Where: MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV
When: May 5, 2007
Let it be known that the reason De La Hoya vs. Mayweather is so high on our list is not for the fight itself. That one might make our most over-hyped list. Basically, we have a rule around these parts: If a fight breaks several records it deserves some kind of a spot at the top of our countdown lists (and if this were a normal year it probably would have been #1). We’ve already made it known that HBO’s 24/7 was largely responsible for its success but allow me to fully break down the numbers for everyone:
* Its 2.4 million pay-per-view buys shattered the 1.99 million buys for Holyfield vs. Tyson in 1997 and really shattered the non-heavyweight record of 1.4 million buys for De La Hoya vs. Trinidad in 1999.
* The total revenue of the bout was $165 million beating the previous record of $112 million by Lewis vs. Tyson in 2002.
* As a result of all the millions generated, Oscar De La Hoya passed Evander Holyfield as the all-time leader in pay-per-view sales with 12.8 million buys.
* The $134.4 million in PPV revenue helped further establish DLH as the PPV king as his fights have generated $626.4 million. Mike Tyson sits in second place with $545 million.
So, the next time you’re at a bar and some drunk sitting next to you waxes idiotic on how boxing is dead just pull out this cheat sheet and stuff it in his face. Then give him a shot right in the kidneys and tell him we sent you.
Further Enlightenment:
Cinco De Mayweather [HBO]
HBO Numbers Prove Superfight Was Super Big At Box Office [ESPN]
De La Hoya-Mayweather Was Richest Fight Ever [MSNBC]
