Brace yourself! The pay-per-view price-tag for the August 26 “Super Fight” between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Conor McGregor was always going to be pretty stiff; the sheer hype alone saw to that. But how much will fight fans have to shell out to watch the Vegas extravaganza from the comfort of their armchairs?
A news piece courtesy of USA Today has announced the price, and it’s not good news for those fans who, like the majority of us, are on a budget. The fight will go out with a price tag of $89.95 – $10 more if you wish to upgrade to high definition.
This fee, the same as that attached to the May 2015 “Fight of The Century” between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, may well seem to be on the steep side, but Showtime spokesperson Madelyn Fax told USA Today that the fee represents the demand.
“This matchup is unprecedented,” Steven Espinoza of Showtime said told the publication. “There has been overwhelming demand from fight fans, and it’s great to be able to deliver.”
In terms of the pay-per-view numbers this fight pulls in, expectations are of course very high. Some have said the crossover bout will even top the US pay-per-view record of 4.4 million buys currently held by the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. That fight, however, was one huge bore; a let down of quite monstrous proportions. Will paying fans run the risk of getting burnt again in August?
It’s no secret that many boxing fans – and MMA fans – are anticipating nothing but a one-sided farce next month; with Mayweather’s sublime boxing skills proving way, way too much for boxing novice McGregor. If we witness a stinker in August, with Floyd adopting his usual safety-first, pot-shotting approach as he coasts to a wide decision win, who aside from TMT (The Money Team) will be happy?
But with Mayweather’s recently well documented (and merely possible, not confirmed) money problems, does the approaching fight have a more genuine element to it in that McGregor WANTS the fight and Mayweather NEEDS the fight?
Is Floyd fighting on purely for the cash? Does the 49-0 master even care about advancing to 50-0? Will fans really care enough to be willing to part with almost $100 to find out?