The Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor bout in Las Vegas is "showing all the signs of the richest event in combat sports history," as gross revenues could exceed $600M, and "could threaten" the $1B threshold, according to Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. PPV sales "seem a lock to hit 4 million and a good bet to exceed the never-before-reached 5 million barrier." The paid gate -- revenue from ticket sales -- at T-Mobile Arena will be more than $80M, "maybe even approaching" $90M. Tickets, which go on sale July 24, are "scaled from $500 to $10,000." From the standpoint of four men -- Showtime Sports VP & GM Stephen Espinoza, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather adviser Al Haymon and UFC President Dana White -- the fight's recent promotional tour was "all about maximizing revenues." They wanted to "whet the appetite of their fans, to get them to drop $100" for the PPV. The promoters wanted to "show potential corporate sponsors the vast public demand that exists for this fight." The fighters "sold the show and guaranteed a massive success." This match is "perhaps the only one made almost entirely by the fans" and it "appeals to several groups." Little attention will be "paid to the low-life taunts the fighters hurled at each other" during the media tour. The "despicable words" the fighters spoke in a "misguided attempt to sell the fight will sadly be forgotten as six weeks pass and the build-up turns into a frenzy." Fortunately, it "wasn't a six-stop or eight-stop swing." Four was "far too much, and two would have been best" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/14).
