This was the first time a major boxing match aired on pay-per-view on the same night as an Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view card.
UFC 103 was also on Sept. 19, and although the UFC’s pay-per-view numbers do not have to be officially released, reports are saying the UFC card did not garner near the pay-per-view buys as the Mayweather/Marquez fight.
Mixed martial arts fans will say the reason for this is because the UFC card was not one of the best in recent memory. It lacked the star power of many recent cards and did not include a title fight.
Well, the Mayweather/Marquez fight was not exactly a super fight.
In fact, many viewed the fight as a tune up for Mayweather, who was making his return to boxing following a nearly two-year retirement.
Although Marquez was ranked as the No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer in the world by Ring Magazine coming into the fight—following the fight Mayweather climbed to No. 2 on this list while Marquez fell to No. 5—most experts predicted Mayweather would outclass Marquez, which he did, knocking Marquez down in the second round en route to a lopsided decision.
Let’s also keep in mind that Mayweather’s 2007 bout with Oscar De La Hoya brought in a record pay-per-view audience of 2.4 million viewers. A lot of this is due to the immense popularity of De La Hoya, but still nothing UFC has offered has come close to this number.
Mayweather’s win coupled with a win by Manny Pacquiao, the No.1 ranked pound-for-pound boxer by Ring Magazine, in his Nov. 14 showdown with current welterweight titleholder Miguel Cotto, could set up a Mayweather/Pacquiao mega-fight sometime next year.
If this fight happens, the pay-per-view buys would far surpass those of any card in UFC history.
UFC’s biggest night, UFC 100, which featured former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar and current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, defeating the then Interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, reportedly sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 million pay-per-views.
These statistics show boxing still has a larger fan base than MMA.
Recently, many people have said they felt the lack of star power in boxing coupled with the emergence of MMA in the mainstream has made MMA a bigger deal than boxing, but this is obviously not the case.
I agree MMA has closed the gap, and I find it very entertaining, but boxing has been around forever and MMA is still the new kid on the block.
Recently, UFC President Dana White said he thinks MMA is becoming more popular than boxing, but Sept. 19 proved him wrong.
Admittedly, with the lack of a big name heavyweight champion in recent memory, boxing has lost some popularity, but when it comes time for a big fight, boxing fans are going to be there.
I admit that with a UFC pay-per-view you seem to get more for your money.
There are usually at least five interesting bouts in a UFC pay-per-view, often including a co-main event, while boxing undercards are usually filled with lackluster matchups featuring up-and-comers as well as has-beens.
Even with this factored in, boxing still outperforms MMA in regard to pay-per-view numbers, with regularity.
By ERIC MCGUFFIN
Editor
demcguff@ius.edu
