LAS VEGAS ? The message from hardcore fight fans about the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor boxing match is unmistakable and hard-to-miss: Yuk.
On Internet forums, message boards and social media, the most intense fans of boxing and mixed martial arts are sharing their displeasure regarding the bout between the legendary Mayweather, a 1996 Olympic bronze medalist who is 49-0 as a pro and has won championships in five weight classes, and McGregor, the UFC lightweight champion whose skills with a microphone made this unusual match a reality.
Yet, the fighters will earn nine-figure paydays each and the bout is expected to be one of the three largest-grossing single-day sports events in history. Pay-per-view sales are on track to exceed five million, which would be a record, and the gross revenue looks like it has an outside chance to surpass $700 million.
UFC president Dana White scoffed at the notion that there was a lack of interest from hardcore fans. He has seen their comments on social media, but he knows what drives a fight fan as well as anyone.
?You?ll always have naysayers, because people live to dump on things, but every one of those people who are dumping on it now are going to watch the fight,? White said. ?Trust me on that. If I listened to people who comment on the Internet, the UFC would never have worked. I?ve started to realize, those people don?t matter at all. They don?t impact our business one bit.
?Boxing guys who live in that boxing world, they don?t get it. People want to see this type of stuff. Look, this is a fight that was built by the fans and the media. This is exactly the kind of thing that people are interested in.?
Mark Taffet, who headed the pay-per-view division at HBO and is now the co-manager of women?s super middleweight world champion Claressa Shields, said there is an easy explanation for the apparent disconnect between fans who are blasting the fight and the reports of its financial success.
It?s a different audience than normal, he said.
?What we would define as a megafight is usually a million to a million-and-a-half buys,? Taffet said. ?It reaches megafight status through the historical boxing fan base. When you do two million-plus buys, as did [Oscar] De La Hoya-Mayweather, Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquiao and now, very likely Mayweather-McGregor, you?re reaching fans who are not buying the event because of the sport. They?re buying it because of the spectacle.
?Both Mayweather-De La Hoya and Mayweather-Pacquiao transcended boxing, but they didn?t transcend the culture to the level of Mayweather-McGregor. This is an entertainment spectacle. People will be interested in it who have never watched boxing before or have never watched MMA. It?s just one of those events that people won?t be able to miss for its entertainment value. To some extent, it reminds me of the old Evel Knievel jumps. It was a lot more than motorcycle fans who watched Evel Knievel and it will be a lot more than boxing and MMA fans who watch Mayweather-McGregor for the same reasons.?
So while the boxing and MMA fans grumble about what they refer to as ?the circus,? others make preparations for parties across the country to watch the bout.
White, though, was angered by the insinuation that fight fans aren?t into the fight. He insisted it is just the opposite.
