Generally for a major pay-per-vew fight, sales on cable systems throughout the country account for 55 to 65 percent of the total. It's more often in the 60 percent range, with satellite systems usually accounting for 35 percent of the sales and telephone companies making up the rest.Yahoo Sports on Thursday learned sales figures for the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight on DirecTV and Dish Network, as well as AT&T's uVerse and Verizon's FIOS services. Those add up to 2.25 million sales, which even without one sale from a cable company customer would make it tied for the second-highest-selling pay-per-view of all time
Mayweather has already participated in the top two best-selling pay-per-view fights of all time, but their totals have combined for 4.73 million. The 2007 match with Oscar De La Hoya stands No. 1, with 2.48 million sales. The 2013 Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez bout sold 2.25 million.
If cable hits 60 percent of total sales and Mayweather-Pacquiao winds up doing 5.625 million, it would exceed Nos. 1 and 2 on the list by 895,000 sales.
Any promoter would be thrilled with sales of 895,000, given that would mean it's one of the top 40 pay-per-views ever. According to Yahoo Sports research, the top 10 boxing PPVs of all time, excluding Mayweather-Pacquiao, are:
- Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather, 2007, HBO, 2.48 million
- Floyd Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez, 2013, Showtime, 2.25 million
- Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson, 2002, HBO & Showtime, 1.98 million
- Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II, 1997, Showtime, 1.98 million
- Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield I, 1996, Showtime, 1.59 million
- Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto, 2012, HBO, 1.5 million
- George Foreman-Evander Holyfield, 1991, 1.45 million
- Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad, 1999, HBO, 1.4 million
- Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley, 2010, HBO, 1.38 million
- Mike Tyson-Peter McNeeley, 1995, Showtime, 1.35 million
Source: Manny Pacquiao Vs Money Weather
