Cotto – Canelo generates 900,000 PPV buys
PPV Weigh-in 11-20-2015
WBC Middleweight Title
Miguel Cotto 153.5 vs. Canelo Alvarez 155
photo Credit: WILL HART
According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the November 21 fight that saw Canelo Alvarez win the Middleweight championship generated 900,000 Pay Per View buys.
“At 900,000 buys and $58 million in PPV revenue, Cotto-Canelo performed superbly,” said HBO senior vice president Mark Taffet, who oversees the network’s pay-per-view franchise. “Not since [Lennox] Lewis-[Mike] Tyson in 2002 has a pay-per-view fight generated at least 900,000 buys without featuring [Floyd] Mayweather, [Manny] Pacquiao or [Oscar] De La Hoya.
“It puts an exclamation point on the biggest year in pay-per-view history. I couldn’t be more thrilled for boxing, Golden Boy, Roc Nation and the fans.”
“It was an incredibly strong performance in a historical context,” Taffet said. “It’s very significant for a fight to do 900,000 when it doesn’t involve one of the biggest stars in the history of pay-per-view: Mayweather, De La Hoya, Pacquiao, Tyson and [Evander] Holyfield.”
“Canelo is now officially the biggest star in all of boxing. Period,” De La Hoya said. “And by committing to fight on Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day — boxing’s two biggest annual dates — Canelo’s popularity will only continue to soar for years to come.”
“I was fortunate to do [the first pay-per-view] Evander Holyfield-George Foreman and then have a few pretty good fights in between,” Taffet said with a laugh. “So to end with Cotto-Canelo, it couldn’t have been a more satisfying finale for me.”