AT LAST THE HYPE IS OVER, NOW THE BISH BASH DOSH CAN BEGIN BLING IT ON
Forget the talk of legacies, forget the battle between boxing and UFC, forget real sport.. this scrap is simply about MONEY... lots and lots and lots of it
leave of the ring with a 50-0 record. Talking about Conor McGregor striking a fatal blow to boxing’s pre-eminence in combat sports. The fighters, the promoters, the hangers-on. They can talk all they like. When Mayweather and McGregor touch eight-ounce gloves in the T-Mobile Arena tonight, it is about one thing. It is all about the money. And all the signs here are that, despite the sniffiness of sporting purists, this event will generate revenue in excess of seven hundred million dollars. One television executive told me the pay-per-view income, with almost five million expected to sign up, could yet reach a staggering $500million. Tickets have not sold out but organisers are expecting a late surge and are confident the $70m mark will easily be reached.
Then, there is the merchandising – it’ll cost you 40 bucks for a baseball cap – which is expected to generate around $3m dollars.
That is a figure dwarfed by the sponsorship top line of around $25m.
But on the eve of a contest that has been dismissed by so many as a freak show, the real surprise in Las Vegas has been the scale of the betting interest. The big money has come rolling in with two bookmakers taking seven-figure wagers on Mayweather.
One punter wired in a milliondollar bet that would make a profit of $182,000 should, as pretty much everyone here expects, Mayweather take care of McGregor.
Another staked $1.2m in CASH on the undefeated boxer and stands to make a a profit of $240,000. There have been two bets of $300,000 and another two of $200,000 on Mayweather.
In total, over $60m is expected to be gambled on the outcome, a record for a boxing match.
Of course, McGregor and Mayweather do not get a percentage of the bookies’ takings but they need not worry.
The purse split is confidential but most believe it to be around the 70-30 mark, in favour of course of Mayweather who could walk away with over $200m.
The least McGregor stands to earn is $70m.
“It was not that long ago I was training to be a plumber,” McGregor said in one of his more reflective moments of a chaotic five-day buildup on The Strip.
“It’s been a great journey and I’ve enjoyed every minute it. I’m a young and happy man.
“I’ve got a son (three-month-old Conor Jack, below) and you see what’s really important, do you know what I mean?
“It has been beautiful. It has been an eye-opening experience.
“If I’m being honest, as a fighter, I’m a little bit more ruthless, a little bit more certain, and a little bit more dangerous, purely because there’s another one now that I’m providing for.”
Conor Jack will certainly be provided for but McGregor insists it is not just about the money.
“It’s great but I’m here to become the king of boxing,” he said.
There are not many in Vegas or anywhere else that give such a coronation even a flicker of a chance.
But whatever happens tonight – and it will surely be an emphatic Mayweather win – Conor McGregor can certainly live like a king for the rest of his life.