LAS VEGAS — Will it set the record?
Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s anticipated junior-middleweight title fight Saturday against Mexico?s Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez could threaten the 2.45 million pay-per-view buys valued at $137 million generated by Mayweather?s 2007 victory over Oscar De La Hoya.
The man who helped negotiate Mayweather-Alvarez said though it?s his tendency to think conservatively, ?if there?s a fight that?s going to break the record, this is it.?
Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza said the matching of boxing?s most well-known fighter against the rising star of the sport?s fan base, ?has the potential to be a historic event, on one of the best pay-per-view cards in the last 10 to 15 years.
?No one wants to miss the fight that Floyd loses, and this could be it. Floyd will be outweighed 18-20 pounds by a younger, stronger fighter.?
The bout has already broken the Nevada record for a live gate, with $19.9 million in ticket sales at the MGM Grand.
With the pay-per-view price rising to $75 for high-definition, the $137-million record could fall even if the total number of buys falls short.
?It?s a tough record to break, a big number and viewership is more fragmented now,? Espinoza said. ?We didn?t have a UFC fight on pay-per-view every month in 2007.?
Although Mayweather?s May bout against little-known Robert Guerrero drew an audience of less than 1 million, his 2012 victory over Miguel Cotto had 1.5 million buys.
And Alvarez?s popularity is rising after he drew 40,000 to the San Antonio Alamodome in April.
Espinoza said Alvarez is a ?phenomenon,? whose popularity is akin to Fernando Valenzuela?s in his days as a Dodger rookie.
?Canelo? has ?a lot of buzz, catching on like wildfire,? he said.
