Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Enormous Revenue Proves Superfight Is Still Relevant

If public interest and cold, hard cash is any indication, the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao bout on May 2 is still a very relevant event for anyone with a remote interest in boxing. According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, the revenue generated for the fight could surpass the $400 million mark. That would smash every record for a fight in the history of the sport.

Mayweather and Pacquiao have gone back and forth since 2009 with negotiations. Until this year, the two legends couldn't come to an agreement. The cat-and-mouse game went on so long, many fans and members of the boxing community may have doubted the fight would ever take place. 

Even now, there are probably skeptical fans waiting for something to derail the historic event. The image Rafael tweeted below may not totally calm the concerns of those who are waiting for the bad news or cancellation, but it seems almost unreal to see both Money and Pac-Man on a fight poster.

The revenue being generated for the fight is coming from so many different sources, it's dizzying to analyze. 

Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum told Rafael the gate alone will generate over $74 million for 15,000 tickets. The ticket sales will range from $1,500 to $10,000 for the most choice seats. For that much money, a ringside seat should come with a title shot. I kid, but it really is staggering when you consider the amount of money that is circulating.

Beer sponsors Tecate and Corona each bid over $5 million for the right to sponsor the bout, but according to Rafael's article, Tecate won the bid. As Rafael reports, Arum said: "Between the gate, the foreign television sales and the closed circuit, which we can't even calculate yet, you're looking at over $120 million. And that's before one pay-per-view has been sold in the U.S."

Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Mayweather's 2007 clash with Oscar De La Hoya holds the current record with 2.4 million buys. The fight with Pacquiao is expected to approach or eclipse the three million mark. With a price that is expected to be close to $100—about $30 more than most fights—the event could generate $300 million from pay-per-view buys alone.

Unless the bout turns out to be a complete rout in favor of Mayweather, it seems as if we'll almost certainly see a lucrative rematch in the summer. Could the two fights alone generate close to $800 million? First things first, MayPac 1 has to happen before we get to the rematch.

Whether the action in the ring lives up to the hype before the fight, this has the potential to become the biggest event in sports in the last 10 years.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.