Who knows which fight can have such a profound impact on your life, in games like boxing we have seen them happening in real. With the PPV sales of one single fight, boxers have earned insane amounts for their diligent work with a lifetime of luxury.
The best example is non-other than Floyd Mayweather Jr., who played boxing professionally from 1996 until 2017 and even after professional retirement, he makes dozens in his exhibition bouts only. He has the most boxing pay-per-view (PPV) buys in history, with 4.6 million buys in total.
The 2015 'Fight of the Century' between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. And this list can keep going but today we have the top five highest PPV boxing fights of all time.
#5 Mike Tyson v Peter McNeeley (1,550,000 buys)
The famous 89 seconds billed more than $96 million as PPV revenue. It was between Mike Tyson, who returned to the ring after a three-year prison sentence, and Peter McNeely. It was held in 1995.
There was no warm-up, Iron Mike had just launched into the match with a straight punch within the first few seconds. Another punch within the next minute shook McNeelay enough for the McNeelay manager to enter the ring to prevent further damage. It was an impressive comeback.
#4. Mike Tyson v Evander Holyfield II (1,990,000 buys)
It was finally in 1997 when 'The Real Deal'- Evander Holyfield II and 'Iron Mike' aka Mike Tyson entered the ring face to face for the first time. With two of the best heavyweight boxers coming together to fight, it had to be the highest-paying PPV fight, raising the revenue to $100.2 million.
The fight was originally billed under the name the Sound and the Fury but was later infamously referred to as The Bite Fight. The title itself gives an overview of this fight, as Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear and was immediately disqualified.
It turned out to be one of the most horrifying bouts in boxing history.
#3. Mike Tyson v Lennox Lewis (1,950,000 buys)
Fans witnessed one of the biggest fights in 2002, the first half of the decade. The match was between defending unified WBC, IBF, IBO, and The Ring champion Lennox Lewis and former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Both athletes and fans were enthralled by the match because both were at the top of their games in their category. As a result of the knockout in the eighth round, Lewis defeated the fighter dubbed 'King Kong Tyson' by the media.
The match had bought a handsome lump sum of $112 million in PPV revenue and became one of the highest PPV boxing fights of all time.
#2. Floyd Mayweather V Conor McGregor (4,300,000 buys)
The Money fight is what they called it and the final billings of $396 million kept that title firmly in place. The match was held between undefeated eleven-time five-division boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and two-division UF Champion Conor McGregor. The battle was held in the U.S. on 26 August 2017.
There was no doubt that fans were kept on their toes till the end. Floyd won the match by technical knockout (TKO) in the 10th round, which gave him a streak of 50 wins without a defeat.
#1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Manny Pacquiao (4,600,000 buys)
It could be no other than a Floyd Mayweather match that recorded the highest PPV and the biggest draw in sports history. The match was between undefeated five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.
The match was held in 2015 in Nevada, U.S. The bout lasted 12 rounds and ended with Floyd prevailing unanimously. Floyd's consistent pace and tempo gave him an edge over Manny's straightforward predictable tactics.
It was originally estimated that 4.4 million people would purchase the game, but the PPV alone generated $410 million in revenue, making this the highest-grossing PPV in history.
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