One of the most hotly anticipated fights is about to hit the ring, as boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather takes on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstar, Conor McGregor Saturday night.
Undefeated boxer Mayweather will meet mixed martial arts star McGregor in at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It’s a fight that could break all pay-per-view records and is predicted to bring in nearly $700 million.
After a long period of speculation about whether the fight would ever take place, the last few months have featured high levels of animosity on both sides, as the rivalry heats up ahead of fight night.
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“Money” Mayweather has never lost a fight: he’s 49-0 with 26 knockouts. The 40-year-old retired from boxing in 2015, but in June announced he was heading back into the ring to fight McGregor.
McGregor, a Dublin-born athlete, is 21-3 with 18 KOs, but the 28-year-old has never set foot in a pro boxing ring. McGregor seems to be having some fun with the fight and even posted a picture of his son dressed up in a three-piece suit.
Where is the fight taking place?
The bout will happen at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, which is also home to the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team. The venue seats 20,000 people and hosted major fights in the past, including UFC 202, in which McGregor beat Nate Diaz.
The fight hasn’t completely sold out. As of Thursday, there were still over 1,500 tickets remaining on StubHub, according to MMA Fighting.
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Where can you watch it?
It’s available in the U.S. on Showtime, which will start broadcasting it around 9 p.m. ET, but the fight starts around 11 p.m., ET.
The pay-per-view fight will cost US$99.95 in high definition or US$89.95 for standard definition. In Canada, you can order the fight from pay-per-view on Shaw, Bell and Rogers.
Another option is flying to Las Vegas and paying up to US$3,500 for a ticket. There are “platinum” seats that go for as much as US$14,995.
How much money is it expected to bring in?
There still isn’t confirmed revenue for the fight as there is a confidentiality agreement that prohibits the release of the exact purses or percentage splits. But if the fight reaches its pay-per-view goal, the total revenue for the bout could be as high as US$700 million, according to Forbes.
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Almost half of that total — US$300 million — is reportedly going to be awarded to the fighters (and of course the amount will differ depending on who wins), according to Forbes.
Pay-per-view sales at $100 each are expected to reach around five million buys, topping Mayweather’s fight with Manny Pacquiao in May 2015, with 4.6 million.
Fight predictions
According to Law Vegas sports bookies, this will be the most heavily bet fight ever.
Mayweather remains the favourite, according to sports betting website OddsShark.com, as he seeks a record-breaking 50th win.
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There is a fight simulation by the betting website sportsline.com. Based on the WWE 2K16 video game, it predicts McGregor will beat Mayweather.
However, according to AM900 sports reporter, Rick Zamperin, Mayweather will be the victor.
“To me, Mayweather is going to win this fight hands down,” he said. “My final prognosis on this bout: Mayweather will dance around McGregor and tire him out before winning a unanimous decision.”
— With files from AM 900 CMHL’s Rick Zamperin and the Associated Press