World Boxing News charts the Top Ten all-time Pay-Per-View sellers in the sport. Boxers like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have upped the ante, although based on sales alone, the original trailblazers belonged to the 1970s.
Mayweather and Pacquiao hold the joint record for the most buys in one event, whilst their 2015 offering is also the most lucrative of all time.
If you take inflation into account, though, ‘MayPac I’ only comes in at number fifteen on the historical list of money fights.
Muhammad Ali is the king of PPV, with ‘The Greatest’ taking up ten spots in the Top twenty headliners.
During the 1960s and 70s, Ali regularly commanded massive sales worldwide to watch his bouts. The sport was it the height of its powers back then.
This continued until the 1980s and 1990s, although the scale of mass buys was curtailed due to TV rights changes.
Ali’s rivals Joe Frazier and George Foreman make up the top three dominance from that era.
Floyd Mayweather comes in a number four, with career rival Manny Pacquiao at five. Mayweather earned almost one billion dollars over the last decade thanks to inflation of value.
The likes of 90s icons Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, and Evander Holyfield are next. UFC star Conor McGregor makes the list in between due to one solitary professional bout.
Anthony Joshua, the top UK earner, makes the top ten in the final spot.
Muhammad Ali George Foreman
Top 10 Boxers (All-Time PPV/Closed Circuit sales combined):
1/ Muhammad Ali – 162.944m (1963-1985) 2/ Joe Frazier 100.5m (1965–1981) 3/ George Foreman 52m (1974–1993) 4/ Floyd Mayweather Jr. 29.09m (2005–2017) 5/ Manny Pacquiao 22.214m (2005–2019) 6/ Mike Tyson 19.1m (1988–2005) 7/ Oscar De La Hoya 14.140m (1995–2008) 8/ Conor McGregor 13,675m (2008–2018 – UFC/Boxing) 9/ Evander Holyfield 12.72m (1984–2003) 10/ Anthony Joshua 10.476m (2015–2019)
TOP 20 most lucrative fights (with inflation):
*Yellow = Record breaker
Date Fight Buys Revenue Revenue (inflation) October 30, 1974 Ali vs Foreman 3,000,000 $60,000,000 $310,000,000 October 1, 1975 Ali vs Frazier III 3,000,000 $60,000,000 $300,000,000 March 8, 1971 Ali vs Fazier I 2,500,000 $45,000,000 $284,000,000 September 27, 1976 Ali vs Norton III 1,500,000 $30,000,000 $130,000,000 April 6, 1987 Leonard vs Hagler 3,000,000 $40,000,000 $90,020,000 June 27, 1988 Tyson vs Spinks 800,000 $32,000,000 $69,180,000 Jun 20, 1980 Duran vs Leonard 1,500,000 $22,000,000 $68,270,000 June 11, 1982 Holmes vs Cooney 2,000,000 $20,000,000 $52,990,000 February 25, 1964 Ali vs Liston 700,000 $5,000,000 $41,200,000 July 22, 1963 Patterson vs Liston II 563,000 $4,747,690 $40,130,000 May 25, 1965 Ali vs Liston II 630,000 $4,300,000 $34,890,000 November 22, 1965 Ali vs Patterson 500,000 $4,000,000 $32,500,000 February 6, 1967 Ali vs Terrell 800,000 $4,000,000 $31,520,000 November 14, 1966 Ali vs Williams 500,000 $3,750,000 $30,420,000 May 2, 2015 Mayweather vs Pacquiao 173,000 $25,900,000 $27,940,000 September 25, 1962 Patterson vs Liston 600,000 $3,200,000 $27,050,000 June 20, 1960 Patterson vs Johannson II 500,000 $3,000,000 $25,930,000 April 15, 1985 Hagler vs Hearns 700,000 $10,500,000 $24,960,000 October 26, 1970 Ali vs Quarry 630,000 $3,500,000 $23,040,000 March 13, 1961 Patterson vs Johannson III 500,000 $2,500,000 $21,390,000
