Mayweather-Maidana II Highest Selling PPV Event of 2014

supporting cast paled miserably—on paper—in comparison to the undercard for the

first fight in May. A sea of bad publicity preceded a Pay-Per-View show that

Maidana managed to surpass their more anticipated bout in May in becoming the

projection of 925,000 units sold for the September 13 show, in which Mayweather

(47-0, 26KOs) scored a unanimous decision to remain lineal champion at both

welterweight and super welterweight. The bout was less competitive than the

first fight in May, which many have called the toughest of Mayweather’s Hall of

for confirmation of the projected total. The network announced following

Mayweather-Maidana I that it would no longer release pay-per-view totals unless

least 25,000 buys from the May 3 event, which—while never truly

power, two key areas are believed to have played a part in the increase in

viewership for the rematch: the surprisingly competitive nature of the first

of Leo Santa Cruz, Miguel Vazquez, Alfredo Angulo and Humberto Soto in separate

bouts. Santa Cruz—easily the most popular of the bunch—had an easy night’s

work, stopping former sparring partner Manuel Roman in two rounds. Soto earned

a career-resurrecting win with a 10-round decision over John Molina Jr., in a

bout that appeared on the SHOWTIME ‘Freeview’ prior to the pay-per-view

dropping decisions on the PPV undercard. Angulo was dropped and humbled in a

10-round points loss to James de la Rosa, while Vazquez—making his debut under

the Al Haymon advisory banner—dropped a debated split decision to Mickey Bey,

the greatest Latino subscriber base among all satellite providers—indicated an

increase of 20% in subscribers for the September rematch. AT&T U-Verse

claimed a similar increase, while DirecTV—the largest satellite provider in the

though the indication is that the event is tracking similarly to that of the

2014 spits in the face of logic, or perhaps suggests that—in addition to the

permitted to speak on the subject of domestic violence to where many in

mainstream media were calling for a boycott of the event. Comments on the

circumstances surrounding Ray Rice’s year-long suspension from the NFL remained

in headlines throughout Fight Week, and an interview conducted with CNN’s

Rachel Nichols further highlighted Mayweather’s history of domestic violence,

leaving the unbeaten fighter to simply remark that such charges were hearsay

have to be believed there is a little bit more to be passed around for the

rematch. Maidana (35-5, 31KOs) saw his guaranteed pay doubled, making $3

million for his second shot at Mayweather, after earning a reported $1.5

matching his guaranteed payday from the May 3 show. This card marked Mayweather

Promotions’ first as a leading—and licensed promoter—for his pay-per-view

events. Golden Boy Promotions served as the lead promoter for his past nine

tag in the vicinity of $2 million, half of what was spent on the May 3 show,

with Broner and Khan both earning well over $1 million a piece for their

events of 2014. The only other fighter to come close to his continued drawing

power happens to be the one fighter the boxing world has forever wanted him to

face in the ring, Manny Pacquiao. The reigning welterweight titlist and

worldwide superstar returned to the title picture with a revenge win over Tim

Bradley this past April. Their rematch generated a reported 750,000

pay-per-view units sold, falling short of industry expectations that hoped for

recent years, an industry-wide suggestion that fans have grown tired of

contributing to their events without the promise of an eventual head-on

collision. The lone exception from the past two years happens to be the

highest-grossing event of all time, as Mayweather’s win over Saul ‘Canelo’

Alvarez—easily the most popular active fighter in Mexico—generated 2.2 million

pay-per-view buys and $150 million in PPV revenue. The totals come in addition

to the record-breaking live gate of more than $20 million and the millions more

Showtime for Mayweather, who joined the network in early 2013 after more than

14 years with rival network HBO. The first fight under the new contract came

last May, when Mayweather outpointed Robert Guerrero in a show that produced

respectable but underwhelming numbers in respect to his popularity and

rematch—along with Santa Cruz’ win over Roman—this Saturday, beginning at 9PM

ET/PT. The replay will be immediately followed by the premiere of All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana II

a Sports Emmy, the only boxing program to earn an award during the ceremony