Only Two Boxing Matches in the Last Three Years Have Topped 1 Million Pay Per View Buys; Conor McGregor Pulled 6.5

I don’t know who was screaming louder at me Saturday night that the Conor McGregor – Floyd Mayweather rematch was a terrible idea: Boxing fans, who didn’t like the event, or UFC fans who want their hero back in the octagon.

Bad news to both camps: If Dana White’s number is accurate, and there were 6.5 million pay-per-view buys on Saturday night, you might as well book the rematch for sometime in the next 24 months. Ideally, it’d be in the next six months, but McGregor is contractually obligated to UFC for at least one more fight.

But here are the best boxing pay-per-view buys in the last three years:

Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquaio, May 2015, 4.6 million
Canelo Álvarez vs Julio César Chávez Jr. May 2017, 1 million
Floyd Mayweather vs Marcos Maidana II, Sept. 2014, 925k
Floyd Mayweather vs Marcos Maidana, May 2014, 900k
Miguel Cotto vs Canelo Álvarez, Nov. 2015, 900k
Manny Pacquiao vs Timothy Bradley II April 2014, 800k

The Boxing powers-that-be will be watching the PPV numbers on the GGG-Canelo Alvarez fight closely. Alvarez, a 27-year old Mexican, has drawing power. While GGG is considered one of the best fighters on the planet right now, he’s 35 and his last PPV pulled in 170k.

Money matters, and stars matter. I’ll stick with my prediction of a Mayweather/McGregor rematch.