UFC 73: Stacked!! July/7th

Statements like this show your true bias. "Destroyed" in terms of PPV buys? Only in your living room. De La Hoya/Mayweather set the all time record for PPV buys and revenue. Not to mention the overall fight was more entertaining than Rampage/Liddell, even though it did not feature a KO.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2865349

Throughout the entire five-month promotion for last Saturday's Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Oscar De La Hoya fight, expectations ran high that it would break the non-heavyweight pay-per-view record of 1.4 million buys set by De La Hoya's 1999 welterweight unification bout against Felix Trinidad.

Al Bello/Getty Images

After slugging each other for 12 rounds, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. squeeze in one hug following what is now the most lucrative fight in boxing history.

However, few expected it to break the all-time record for buys or the all-time revenue record.

HBO PPV announced on Wednesday that the match between Mayweather -- the pound-for-pound king -- and De La Hoya -- the sport's most popular fighter -- eclipsed the buy mark of 1.99 million, set by the 1997 Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson heavyweight championship ear-bite rematch, and the revenue record of $112 million, set by the 2002 Lennox Lewis-Tyson heavyweight title fight.

The new records: an astonishing 2.15 million buys, a number that will increase once all the buys are fully accounted for (the fight could easily surpass 2.2 million buys), and a gargantuan $120 million in pay-per-view revenue.

The buy record included 1.225 million units from cable systems and 925,000 satellite homes.

"I'm ecstatic," De La Hoya told ESPN.com, just after taping an interview for HBO's rebroadcast. "Of course, the money makes me really happy, but just having those records and being a non-heavyweight is an accomplishment in itself. To break the 1.99 million mark goes to show you that Golden Boy Promotions likes to do things in a big way.

"I think everyone targeted the 1.4 million mark, but me and [Golden Boy CEO] Richard [Schaefer] were always shooting for the 2 million mark. It's amazing."

Mayweather claimed a split decision victory and won a junior middleweight title in the much-anticipated showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. HBO will televise a replay of the fight Saturday night (10 ET/PT), which will include new interviews with Mayweather and De La Hoya.

"De La Hoya vs. Mayweather was a record-setting event from the moment the fight was announced," said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. "We are delighted that sports fans recognized the greatness of these two future Hall of Famers and tuned in for their showdown. It's satisfying to see that boxing still connects with sports fans throughout the country and we are determined to continue to present high-profile fights that capture the public's imagination."

If you include the $19 million-plus live gate (another record) plus millions more in revenue from foreign TV sales, merchandising, sponsorships and closed circuit sales, the fight will gross in excess of $150 million.

"It is mind boggling, but it goes to show you the hard work everyone put into the promotion paid off," De La Hoya told ESPN.com. "Everyone did a tremendous job."

Greenburg also credited the success of HBO's "24/7" reality show that ran in a coveted Sunday night slot behind the "Sopranos" and "Entourage" for three weeks leading up to the fight with helping sell both the public and the media on its worth.

De La Hoya was guaranteed $23.3 million and Mayweather $10 million for the fight. With the overwhelming success of the event, De La Hoya could take home upwards of $50 million with Mayweather earning around $20 million.

"I'm particularly pleased that the fight reached 2.15 million buys on a weekend in which 'Spider-Man 3' established a new Hollywood box office record and the Kentucky Derby took place," HBO PPV's Mark Taffet said. "That puts in perspective the magnitude of it."

The pay-per-view tally also made De La Hoya the biggest pay-per-view attraction in history. His 18 pay-per-view events have generated $612 million in domestic television receipts, enabling him to leave Tyson ($545 million) and Holyfield ($543 million) in the dust.

De La Hoya's fights have also sold 12.55 million units. With the 2.15 million sold for this fight expected to increase, De La Hoya should surpass Holyfield's record of 12.6 million units. De La Hoya surpassed Tyson's 12.4 million total.

"When I was in Vegas I got the indications that we would break the first hurdle on Monday, when I knew we would do more than 1 million buys," Schaefer said. "Then on Tuesday, I knew we would break the Trinidad fight record. From there on we were in uncharted territory. Not only did we break the all-time record [non-heavyweight record], we went straight to home run with the biggest event in the history of the sport.

"If you think about it, for a non-heavyweight fight, to break the buy record, it shows you if you do the right fights, boxing is still very much alive."

De La Hoya has participated in each of the top six non-heavyweight pay-per view events in history. Fights on the list beside matches with Mayweather and Trinidad include those with Bernard Hopkins (1 million), a rematch with Shane Mosley (950,000), Fernando Vargas (935,000) and Ricardo Mayorga (935,000).

"The results of this fight are a tribute to Oscar and to Mayweather," Schaefer said. "It was a great team effort between HBO, Golden Boy and the sponsors, who are the key to the sport of boxing. Having corporate America in boxing again shows you what we can do. This is an amazing effort from the sponsors and also from the MGM.

"From the beginning, Oscar said, 'Let's reach for the stars and go for the home run.' To be involved as a four-year-old company and do this is a big feather in the Golden Boy cap. The key is now to build on it and show that this is not a one-night-only event, to learn from this and apply the formula to other events."

 

LOLOLOLOL

Yeah I'm sure it did, and I bet tonights episode of "John from Cincinnati" is going to out draw the last episode of "The Sopranos"

 

UFC will never touch Boxing. SamFisher already touched on it but it's not even close. Hatton/PBF would sell out an entire staduim and make each Floyd about 25-35 million. Even in Vegas it's gate is close to 17k and the PPV buys should be in the top 10 of all time.

Your living room doesn't exactly pay the fighters salary. You could take the biggest UFC fight right now and then wait for a shot Vargas to fight a shot mayorga at 160 )both over their normal weight classes and I'll bet you it does more buys.

Oh, and a whoever Tito fights in january for his comeback (even if it's me) would destroy UFC's top fight right now.

 

No reason to bring boxing into this. I don't see why you can't be a fan of both. Lame.


Did anyone watch Klitsch vs Lamont?



Sherk//Penn gonna happen soon.

gonzaga looks like the real deal. Anyone can be beaten in mma, even Fedor.

 

Sherk is super boring to watch, his lay and pray tactics make me wish Gomi would quickly sign with the UFC. there isnt anyone in the ufc LW division that can beat sherk, except maybe bj penn, but he might decide to get fat again.

Gomi lost to diaz cause he was ill prepared, more interested in blackjack, booze and screwing blonde chicks in his hotel room, than training.

he totally gassed, but still managed to break diaz's face with a sledgehammer right hand. the diaz lost to me is the same as tyson/keaton in Tokyo. im positive, that when Gomi is motivated and prepared , no one can stop him, AND YES not even fatty bj penn. some peeple will never accept Gomi for the great fighter that he is, i think because he is Japanese.

 

I think it has more to do with the fact that he loses. It's hard to rain on someones parade if they say Fedor is the greatest because well he hasn't lost except once and that should have been overturned. Saying the same for Gomi makes for solid discussion but there are a good number of fighters who stand a better shot at beating him right now than any competition Fedor could face at the moment.

I'm a big Gomi fan but the number of excuses some people make for his losses kind of irritates me. It's similar to the way Wanderlei Silva fans make excuses when he loses. Both are tremendous fighters, and usually the top entertaining fighters out there, but when they lose they lose. Simple as that.

 

Also it seems like every month we have someone say boxing is dead every time the next UFC PPV match is, and SamFisher blowing a gasket at the claim.

 

like the way bj penn fans make excuses for his losses again matt hughes and george st. pierre? or how they believe penn can beat anyone, yes even fedor?

 

Pretty much. Point is its not race related why people don't give Gomi enough credit. Fans of their respected fighters make excuses no matter what so the losses they carry don't seem so tarnished. A loss is a loss whether its from taking a fighter for granted, or simply being outmatched even if the fighter is at the top of his game. Point is, whether the opponent they lost to is better on their best day or not is irrelavent. They were better on the day they beat these supposed idolized fighters.

 

Wasn't Diaz on pot? If you can't beat a dude on pot, you wouldn't have beaten him not on it... lol. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude...

 

the pot made him feel less pain, therefore the hole gomi busted in his face didnt affect him.

 

dont know if anyone posted this or not.


- SHERK TESTS POSITIVE
Thursday, July 19, 2007 - MMAWeekly.com
HEADLINE.jpg

Sean Sherk, the reigning UFC World Lightweight Champion, who last competed on July 7, 2007 in Sacramento, has tested positive for Nandrolone Metabolite. He has been fined $2,500. His suspension period runs from the conclusion of his bout on July 7, 2007 through the remainder of his licensing year which is June 26, 2008. Furthermore, he has been assessed an additional 10 days in order to fulfill the terms of his suspension (365 total days). The additional days will be added at the beginning of his next licensing year when he reapplies.

Normal levels of Nandrolone range from 2 ng/mL (average person) to 6 ng/mL (athlete engaged in rigorous activity). Mr. Sherk's reported level certified by the Director of Science and Technology from the laboratory that conducted the tests was 12 ng/mL. Both the "A" sample and "B" sample were tested and confirmed as positive.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4359&zoneid=9

 

Wow this is shocking, lol.

 

Sherk and Franca BOTH tested positive for Steriods.

Sherk has appealed his suspension, but Franca admitted to using. He said he contacted the UFC to push the fight back because he was injured and couldn't train properly, but they said no. So he took drugs to recover from his injury quicker and so he could train properly for his title shot. I believe he only got like $14,000 for the fight, and he basically said he cheated so he could fight and put food on the table. Props for telling the truth, but he's suspended for a year and will have a hard time getting back into the UFC.

I really wish that the UFC would pay these guys more money so stuff like this doesn't happen in the future. With all the PPV buys they are getting now, for them to fight in this sport for that kind of money is a joke. Only the bigger names like Chuck, Tito, and Couture and the suits are making big money, while these other guys fight for sometimes as little as $3000.

I also read somewhere that the Utlimate Fighting reality show winners like Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin get a "6 figure contract", but it's a 3 year, 9 fight contract with 3 fights a year. The first year it's $12,000 a fight, another $12,000 if you win. The second year it's $24k/$24k, and then the third is $36k/$36k. You would have to go 9-0 over 3 years to earn $300k.

 

no **** Sherk was on roids. look at him, he is like 5'2 and is built like the hulk.

too bad Gomi signed with K1, would have loved to see the Fireball Kid light up the Muscle Shark.