The PPV numbers for Errol Spence vs. Mikey Garcia arguably exceeded expectations.
Neither Errol Spence Jr nor Mikey Garcia had ever headlined a pay-per-view event prior to their March 16th clash, but at least for Spence, it is quite possible he’ll be primarily a PPV attraction moving forward.
ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported earlier this week that the FOX Sports PPV broadcast topped the 360,000 buys mark, with the potential for that number to grow closer towards 400,000.
The source said the sales figure is likely to move closer to 380,000 with an outside chance to touch 400,000 buys with numbers from cable operators still being tallied. At 360,000 buys, the $75 pay-per-view (and closer to $85 for the high-definition broadcast) grossed at least $27 million domestically.
A Fox Sports spokesman declined to comment and said there would be no official announcement of the pay-per-view total.
Mike Coppinger of Ring Magazine first reported that Spence vs. Garcia would exceed 300,000 buys. It’s a long way from Richard Schaefer’s outrageous hope of 1 million buys, but still exceeding any sensible expectations. Attendance at AT&T Stadium was more than 47,000 fans, which explains why they put the fight in a stadium as opposed to a standard arena.
Spence won a lopsided decision over Garcia in a champ vs. champ bout pitting the IBF welterweight king Spence (25-0, 21 KOs) against WBC lightweight champion Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs), who’d never fought at welterweight before. Both men reportedly had $3 million guarantees before PPV splits and other avenues for income, so while Spence was the victor with ease, they each earned a considerable amount of coin.
This actually surpasses the 325,000 buys for Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury from last December, but will likely come up just short of besting January’s PPV main event between Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner. There was talk of Spence taking on Pacquiao later this year — hence Pacquiao was in the ring after Spence’s win — but now attention has shifted to Spence possibly unifying titles with WBC champion Shawn Porter (30-2, 17 KOs).
The next boxing PPV is slated for April 20th, as Terence Crawford headlines against Amir Khan at Madison Square Garden in New York. ESPN will distribute the pay-per-view event, although pricing has not yet been announced.