Showtime Networks announced Thursday that Saturday’s fight between Floyd Mayweather and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, billed as “The One,” generated a record $150 million in pay-per-view revenue on 2.2 million buys. It breaks the record of $136 million for Mayweather’s 2007 fight against Oscar De La Hoya, but falls short of the 2.5 buys for that bout. “It shows the health of boxing and that it can deliver at the highest level,” says Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy which promoted both Mayweather fights.
Showtime, owned by CBS CBS -0.42%, is still counting PPV receipts from distributors and says “The One” has a shot at catching the 2007 De La Hoya fight in terms of total buys. The initial report had the 2007 fight at 2.15 million buys, but the total has grown over the years as more distributors reported sales of the event.