Floyd Mayweather is guaranteed $32 million Saturday (AP)LAS VEGAS -- What can you buy for $32 million? Well, late Saturday night, after his bout with Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden has ended, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will find out.
According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, Mayweather is guaranteed $32 million for Saturday's match for the World Boxing Association super welterweight championship, the largest guarantee for a boxer in history.
That, however, is only a guarantee. Mayweather will also take home a hefty share of the pay-per-view profits and will make significantly more. No one is saying, but Mayweather said during an interview on Tuesday that it could be upwards of $100 million.
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No doubt, that was hyperbole, but he's going to be paid very well for risking his 42-0 record against the Puerto Rican star.
His guarantee surpasses the $30 million guarantee given to Mike Tyson for his 1997 fight with Evander Holyfield. Cotto is guaranteed $8 million, so the combined $40 million payouts are less than the combined $41 million given to Tyson and Holyfield. Holyfield earned $11 million for that fight.
Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, couldn't say how much more Mayweather would make, other than it is a lot.
This is the largest guarantee ever in Nevada. Ever. And where are the big fights held? In Nevada.
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In pure dollars, Mayweather has the record. Adjusted for inflation, though, Tyson's mark might still be the record. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics site, a $30 million payment in 1997 would equate to $42.9 million in 2012 dollars.
Both men easily made weight. Cotto weighed in on the number at 154. Mayweather weighed in at a career-high 151.
The two had a lengthy staredown, far longer than normal, and began jawing at each other.
At the MGM Grand sports book, Mayweather is now nearly an 8-1 favorite.
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