LOS ANGELES • Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor's money-spinning superfight failed to break the record for gate receipts at a Las Vegas boxing bout, figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) revealed on Wednesday.
The controversial Aug 26 fight raked in US$55,414,865.79 (S$74.66 million), well short of the US$72,198,500 generated by Mayweather's 2015 "Fight of the Century" against Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand.
The Mayweather-McGregor bout - dubbed "The Money Fight" - staged at the T-Mobile Arena, sold 13,094 tickets, well short of the venue's 20,500 capacity. The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight sold 16,219 tickets.
A total of 137 complimentary tickets were given away for Mayweather-McGregor, won by Mayweather.
The 40-year-old American beat Irishman McGregor, 29, a mixed martial arts champion who was making his professional boxing debut, by way of technical knockout in the 10th round to surpass heavyweight great Rocky Marciano's 49-0 record for the most wins without a loss or draw.
Face-value ticket prices for Mayweather-McGregor were among the most expensive in history, with the cheapest seats going for US$500 and the most expensive for as much as US$10,000.
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23%
Shortfall in gate receipts for the Mayweather-McGregor fight, relative to Mayweather's 2015 bout against Manny Pacquiao.
Although the fight failed to challenge the Mayweather-Pacquiao gate total, it becomes the second highest-grossing gate in Las Vegas history, surpassing the US$20 million generated by Mayweather's 2013 defeat of Canelo Alvarez.
According to the BBC, the NSAC figures also show that Mayweather has been part of six of the seven highest-earning gates in boxing.
Of the top-seven gates recorded in the state of Nevada, only Lennox Lewis' win over Evander Holyfield in 1999 - now fifth on the all-time list - does not feature Mayweather.
The Mayweather-McGregor bout is also set to be one of the richest fights in history if the most bullish predictions of pay-per-view television sales are met.
Some predictions have suggested the fight could threaten the 4.6 million buys generated by Pacquiao-Mayweather.
Official numbers have not been released, although executives from cable network Showtime Sports said they expected the bout would at least be second.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
