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Floyd Mayweather's unanimous decision victory over Shane Mosley totaled 1.4 million pay-per-view buys and earned the fighter a career-high $40 million, his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, told FanHouse on Monday.
Even before the pay-per-view totals, Mayweather had accomplished a career milestone with his guaranteed $22.5 million purse, compared to Mosley's career-best guarantee of $7 million.
Mayweather's purse ranked No. 1 all time for a non-heavyweight bout, with Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and James "Buster" Douglas all having had guarantees that surpassed Mayweather's.
Mayweather's $40 million falls short of Oscar De La Hoya's $54 million earned after his May 2007 loss to Mayweather.
"Love him or hate him, the guy is a superstar," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, which also co-promotes Mayweather. "He did double the pay-per-view numbers that De La Hoya did [in his loss] to Pacquiao. That's a fact."
Mayweather's 2007 victory over De La Hoya set a pay-per-view boxing record of 2.4 million buys, and his average pay-per-view buys entering the bout with Mosley -- a total of $48 million for six fights -- ranked as the highest all time.
"We are truly, truly excited about Floyd holding the record for the two highest-grossing non-heavyweight fights in the history of the sport. It just shows you another example of the tremendous star power that Floyd has. It's just such a remarkable feat -- especially considering that he's only been in seven pay-per-view fights," said Ellerbe.
"And out of the seven, two of the seven, he holds the record for being involved in the two highest buys for non-heavyweight fights ever," said Ellerbe. "Floyd goes out, and he puts on an outstanding performance. It speaks volumes about the great, great fighter that he is. The numbers are outstanding, and we owe everything to the fans for their outstanding support. It was a great night."
The sport's biggest fight is perceived to be one against seven-division titlist Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), who is the defending WBO welterweight (147 pounds) champion.
Ellerbe said, however, that the 33-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) "isn't thinking about fighting anybody right now."
"Floyd [is] just coming off of a tremendous victory against a future Hall of Famer in Shane Mosley, and it was a great fight for the fans," said Ellerbe. "Floyd took the fight to Shane Mosley, and he, once again, showed the world why he's the best fighter in the world, why he's the biggest star in the sport."
The first attempt at negotiating a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout disintegrated over issues involving random drug testing. Pacquiao has resisted the notion, citing an aversion to having blood drawn close to a fight and claiming it weakens him.
But after Mosley agreed to the procedure, which was overseen by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Mayweather has insisted that there will be no fight with Pacquiao unless he also agrees to do so.
Pacquiao is running for a congressional seat in his native Philippines, after which his promoter, Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, has indicated that he would begin to entertain a potential fight with Mayweather.
Ellerbe, however, said that, for the moment, negotiating another fight is the furthest thing from Mayweather's mind.
"Floyd's going on vacation, and he's not thinking about Manny Pacquiao, [Pacquiao's trainer] Freddie Roach, Bob Arum, and none of the rest of his group," said Ellerbe. "The business model has been established by Floyd Mayweather, and he's in complete control."
Mayweather's showmanship began long before he entered the ring against Mosley.
Mayweather's robe and trunks were made of red leather and black mink. He was led into the ring by the musical group, The O'Jays, singing "For The Love Of Money."
A man dressed as Elvis Presley dished out fake dollar bills to fans, a show girl walked on stilts, and there were deafening, gun-shot sound effects.
"Everybody's gunning for [Mayweather]. But like I said, if and when he starts to do something with the negotiations, we'll approach it then," said Ellerbe. "But Floyd is not thinking bout anybody. He's getting ready to take a long vacation and a much-deserved vacation. He had a tremendous training camp -- the best that he's ever had -- and the results showed ."
--Source Boxing Fanhouse
Even before the pay-per-view totals, Mayweather had accomplished a career milestone with his guaranteed $22.5 million purse, compared to Mosley's career-best guarantee of $7 million.
Mayweather's purse ranked No. 1 all time for a non-heavyweight bout, with Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and James "Buster" Douglas all having had guarantees that surpassed Mayweather's.
Mayweather's $40 million falls short of Oscar De La Hoya's $54 million earned after his May 2007 loss to Mayweather.
"Love him or hate him, the guy is a superstar," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, which also co-promotes Mayweather. "He did double the pay-per-view numbers that De La Hoya did [in his loss] to Pacquiao. That's a fact."
Mayweather's 2007 victory over De La Hoya set a pay-per-view boxing record of 2.4 million buys, and his average pay-per-view buys entering the bout with Mosley -- a total of $48 million for six fights -- ranked as the highest all time.
"We are truly, truly excited about Floyd holding the record for the two highest-grossing non-heavyweight fights in the history of the sport. It just shows you another example of the tremendous star power that Floyd has. It's just such a remarkable feat -- especially considering that he's only been in seven pay-per-view fights," said Ellerbe.
"And out of the seven, two of the seven, he holds the record for being involved in the two highest buys for non-heavyweight fights ever," said Ellerbe. "Floyd goes out, and he puts on an outstanding performance. It speaks volumes about the great, great fighter that he is. The numbers are outstanding, and we owe everything to the fans for their outstanding support. It was a great night."
The sport's biggest fight is perceived to be one against seven-division titlist Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), who is the defending WBO welterweight (147 pounds) champion.
Ellerbe said, however, that the 33-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) "isn't thinking about fighting anybody right now."
"Floyd [is] just coming off of a tremendous victory against a future Hall of Famer in Shane Mosley, and it was a great fight for the fans," said Ellerbe. "Floyd took the fight to Shane Mosley, and he, once again, showed the world why he's the best fighter in the world, why he's the biggest star in the sport."
The first attempt at negotiating a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout disintegrated over issues involving random drug testing. Pacquiao has resisted the notion, citing an aversion to having blood drawn close to a fight and claiming it weakens him.
But after Mosley agreed to the procedure, which was overseen by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Mayweather has insisted that there will be no fight with Pacquiao unless he also agrees to do so.
Pacquiao is running for a congressional seat in his native Philippines, after which his promoter, Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, has indicated that he would begin to entertain a potential fight with Mayweather.
Ellerbe, however, said that, for the moment, negotiating another fight is the furthest thing from Mayweather's mind.
"Floyd's going on vacation, and he's not thinking about Manny Pacquiao, [Pacquiao's trainer] Freddie Roach, Bob Arum, and none of the rest of his group," said Ellerbe. "The business model has been established by Floyd Mayweather, and he's in complete control."
Mayweather's showmanship began long before he entered the ring against Mosley.
Mayweather's robe and trunks were made of red leather and black mink. He was led into the ring by the musical group, The O'Jays, singing "For The Love Of Money."
A man dressed as Elvis Presley dished out fake dollar bills to fans, a show girl walked on stilts, and there were deafening, gun-shot sound effects.
"Everybody's gunning for [Mayweather]. But like I said, if and when he starts to do something with the negotiations, we'll approach it then," said Ellerbe. "But Floyd is not thinking bout anybody. He's getting ready to take a long vacation and a much-deserved vacation. He had a tremendous training camp -- the best that he's ever had -- and the results showed ."
--Source Boxing Fanhouse