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Pacquiao-Cotto tops Mayweather in PPV
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Manny Pacquiao's historic 12th-round TKO of Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas on Saturday night did big business.
The Top Rank-promoted fight generated 1.25 million buys and $70 million in domestic pay-per-view revenue, HBO announced Friday. If historical trends hold, the numbers will increase when all the buys are officially audited.
The 1.25 million buys, the most for a boxing pay-per-view this year, came from 650,000 from cable homes and 600,000 from satellite services.
Cotto, who is from Puerto Rico, helped drive the fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to an all-time record for buys on the island with 110,000 units sold.
Combined with the approximately 1.05 million buys generated by Floyd Mayweather's dominant decision victory against Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19, this is the first time since 1999 -- when Felix Trinidad claimed a decision against Oscar De La Hoya in a welterweight unification fight and Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield fought to a highly controversial draw for the undisputed heavyweight championship -- that two pay-per-view fights have generated at least 1 million buys in the same calendar year.
It is also the first time ever that back-to-back pay-per-views have reached seven figures.
With the victory, Pacquiao, who won his first world title in the 112-pound flyweight division, became the first fighter in history to win titles in seven divisions when he claimed Cotto's 147-pound welterweight title. HBO will replay the bout on Saturday night (10 ET/PT).
The victories by Pacquiao and Mayweather set the stage for what likely will be the biggest money fight ever. Their representatives are planning to open negotiations in the coming days for a showdown between the top two fighters in the world pound-for-pound. Their fight would likely take place in the spring.
It's the third consecutive blockbuster pay-per-view fight for Pacquiao, who also drew 1.25 million buys for his eighth-round destruction of De La Hoya in December 2008 and approximately 830,000 buys for his second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton to win the junior welterweight championship in May.
Pacquiao-Cotto also generated a live gate of $8,847,550 from an official crowd of 15,930, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That makes it the 14th biggest gate in Nevada history.
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Manny Pacquiao's historic 12th-round TKO of Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas on Saturday night did big business.
The Top Rank-promoted fight generated 1.25 million buys and $70 million in domestic pay-per-view revenue, HBO announced Friday. If historical trends hold, the numbers will increase when all the buys are officially audited.
The 1.25 million buys, the most for a boxing pay-per-view this year, came from 650,000 from cable homes and 600,000 from satellite services.
Cotto, who is from Puerto Rico, helped drive the fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to an all-time record for buys on the island with 110,000 units sold.
Combined with the approximately 1.05 million buys generated by Floyd Mayweather's dominant decision victory against Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19, this is the first time since 1999 -- when Felix Trinidad claimed a decision against Oscar De La Hoya in a welterweight unification fight and Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield fought to a highly controversial draw for the undisputed heavyweight championship -- that two pay-per-view fights have generated at least 1 million buys in the same calendar year.
It is also the first time ever that back-to-back pay-per-views have reached seven figures.
With the victory, Pacquiao, who won his first world title in the 112-pound flyweight division, became the first fighter in history to win titles in seven divisions when he claimed Cotto's 147-pound welterweight title. HBO will replay the bout on Saturday night (10 ET/PT).
The victories by Pacquiao and Mayweather set the stage for what likely will be the biggest money fight ever. Their representatives are planning to open negotiations in the coming days for a showdown between the top two fighters in the world pound-for-pound. Their fight would likely take place in the spring.
It's the third consecutive blockbuster pay-per-view fight for Pacquiao, who also drew 1.25 million buys for his eighth-round destruction of De La Hoya in December 2008 and approximately 830,000 buys for his second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton to win the junior welterweight championship in May.
Pacquiao-Cotto also generated a live gate of $8,847,550 from an official crowd of 15,930, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That makes it the 14th biggest gate in Nevada history.