Mayweather-McGregor Banks 4.3 Million Buys, Says Showtime
According to an announcement by Showtime, Floyd Mayweather's money-spinning clash with Conor McGregor generated 4.3 million pay-per-view buys – making it the second biggest fight in PPV history.
The historic clash on August 26 saw the Irish UFC star make his professional boxing debut against Mayweather, an unbeaten former five-weight world champion.
Despite many labeling the fight a mismatch, however, the fighters had hoped the bout would become the richest in the sport's history.
It did break UK PPV records, generating more than 1 million buys, and earned the competitors a combined fortune of around £329 million.
But Showtime, who broadcast the fight in the US, have now revealed that the August 26 showdown failed to beat Mayweather's showdown with Pacquiao in 2015.
That long-awaited fight garnered 4.6m buys in North America, 300,000 more than Mayweather's 50th career victory.
May-Pac also generated more than $600 million – more than Mayweather-McGregor.
The news does mean, however, that 'Money' has been involved in the four most popular fights in boxing history. Evander Holyfield's rematch against Mike Tyson (1.9m buys) is the only bout in the top five that doesn't involve the 40-year-old American.
Neither he nor McGregor have returned to action since the August 26 showdown. Mayweather has been enjoying retirement, while theUFC star has been involved in a number of controversies in recent months.
TOP FIVE BOXING PPVs OF ALL TIME
1) Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao - 4.6m
2) Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor - 4.3m
3) Oscar De La Hoya v Floyd Mayweather - 2.4m
4) Floyd Mayweather v Canelo Alvarez - 2.2m
5) Evander Holyfield v Mike Tyson 2 - 1.99m
