12. It is not all about the fight. It is entertainment.
Boxing business has been going around for decades longer than MMA business. And to date, MMA still continues to grow. So, in this case, Mayweather has the upperhand.
The point of broadcasting fighting bouts on TV is to entertain viewers. And nowadays, the ultimate goal to that point is getting a lot of pay-per-view buys. Endorsements and bonuses aside, these pay-per-view revenues have been one of the biggest, if not the biggest income for these fight businesses.
Titled the fight of the century, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout gained around 4.6 million buys of pay-per view. That is more than $400 million revenue for Showtime and HBO. However, not all Mayweather’s bouts gained that much of interest. His last fight for example, only gained 400,000 buys.
McGregor in the other hand, has been the biggest pay-per-view draw in MMA. Since he got UFC interim belt in 2015, his bouts gain more than 1 million buys each. And that number seems to keep growing. One day, it may exceed Mayweather-Pacquiao’s record. But until then, we give this round to Mayweather.
