McGregor and Mayweather clash saw nearly 7,000 empty seats at venue

What's the story?

In the build-up to the 'Money Fight' between American boxer Floyd Mayweather and Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor, ticket sales were expected to go through the roof and beat the record set by the Mayweather-Pacquiao 'Fight of the Century'. On that particular bout in 2015, around $72.2 million worth of tickets were sold.

However, the Mayweather-McGregor fight fell short on that count, earning a comparatively lower $55 million through gate receipts. The attendance figures of the fight too, paint a rather surprising picture.

The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where the fight took place, has a capacity of 20,000 seats for Boxing/MMA fights. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) did some number-crunching and revealed that a total of 13,094 tickets were sold and another 137 were given away as complimentary tickets. This meant that around 7,000 tickets went unsold which is disastrous for the organizers for the event.

In case you didn't know

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor faced off last month on August 27 in the richest fight in pro boxing history, with both fighters taking home substantial sums.

Mayweather proved to be victorious on the night and won the bout in 10 rounds via technical knockout. McGregor, who was making his debut in the ring, gave a good account of himself despite being up against a vastly superior opposition.

The heart of the matter

This bout missed hitting the gate receipts record set by the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Mayweather and his entourage had confirmed in a press conference that the attendance was 14,623.

Despite the low gate receipts, Showtime executive vice-president Stephen Espinoza said that he is confident that the overall revenue record will be broken once the final PPV figures from across the globe are calculated.

What's next?

Although it wasn't a full house as the organizers were expecting, Mayweather and McGregor still walked away with impressive sums tucked deeply in their pockets, making it a win-win situation for both fighters.

Sportskeeda's take

It certainly seems strange that a sporting event that was this hyped ever since it was announced, has failed to see a full-house in the stadium. However, one can expect to see the overall record being smashed once the final figures are out.