By The Numbers: Mayweather Vs. Pacquiao
LAS VEGAS, NV (CBS) — As Philadelphia peers through its myopic sports straw at the upcoming NFL Draft this week, the rest of the world will be converging on Las Vegas for the biggest fight since a pair of undefeated heavyweights fought in Madison Square Garden, on March 8, 1971, when Joe Frazier took on Muhammad Ali.
Anyone who is someone will be in Vegas this week for the epic clash between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
And apparently, Vegas and the boxing game have a chance to cash in for this rare, worldwide opportunity.
Every hotel room on the strip is sold out. Sponsorship for the event, according to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, is supposed to garner a record $13.2 million. A pair of face value $10,000 ringside tickets is going on the secondary market for a staggering $350,000—each.
The fight itself, projected to attract a record 3 million pay-per-view buys in the United States, at $100 a shot, will rake in another $300 million. According to a number of major sports books, even though Mayweather is a favorite, $80 million is projected to be bet on the fight. A typical Super Bowl generates the highest amount, and that's usually in the $100 million range.
According to ESPN.com, "Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, Pacquiao's promoter, told ESPN.comon Friday that their contracts with five title sponsors will add a record $13.2 million to the bottom line of a fight expected to generate at least $400 million, with the vast majority of that money coming from the domestic pay-per-view revenue."
With roughly 500 tickets released to the public, closer to 400 tickets have been sold at an average price of around $6,000 each on StubHub. Mayweather will probably top the Forbes richest athlete for 2015 salary.
A secondary market for tickets, with only about 500 released to the public, "would have the highest average price of any sporting event ever," according to ESPN.com. Through Sunday night, about 300 tickets had sold on StubHub with an average price of more than $6,000.
Mayweather, on a single night, might clear $100 million, and Pacquiao around $70 million.
"People want to see this fight, and they're willing to go to great lengths to see it," Top Rank President Bob Arum said. 'It's a fight that the world has been waiting to see and we're finally going to see who is the best fighter in the world on Saturday night."
Who:
Floyd Mayweather
Record: (47-0, 26 KOs)
Age: 38
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5-8
Reach: 72 inches
Rounds boxed: 363
World title fights: 24
Last loss: August 2, 1996, or in 6,847 days (which translates into 18 years, nine months, excluding the end date) to Bulgaria's Serafim Todorov in the 1996 Olympic featherweight semifinals.
Career earnings: $420 million
Manny Pacquiao
Record: (57-5-2, 38 KOs)
Age: 36
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 5-6
Reach: 67 inches
Rounds boxed: 407
World title fights: 19
Last loss: Dec. 8, 2012, or in 875 days (which translates to 2 years, 4 months, 24 days excluding the end date) to Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was leading on all three judge's scorecards 47-46 at the time of the knockout.
Career earnings: $340 million
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
When: May 2, 9 p.m. ET (Main event scheduled to go on at 11 PM ET)
TV: Showtime/HBO PPV
