Canelo Alvarez‘s unanimous-decision victory over Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas on Saturday generated $17 million in ticket sales and 650,000 pay-per-view sales, Sports Business Journal is reporting.
The sales are impressive on their own, but coming on the same night and in the same city as the record-breaking UFC 306, Canelo-Berlanga reinforces the multi-division champion’s status as one of the biggest draws in boxing.
UFC 306, meanwhile, generated $22 million at the Sphere in the MMA circuit’s first foray into the new glitzy venue.
‘It’s two different fan bases,’ TGB Promotions owner Tom Brown told Sports Business Journal about competing with Dana White‘s MMA promotion.
‘Commercially, it’s probably panned out better than we thought,’ he added.
Canelo Alvarez ‘s unanimous-decision victory over Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas on Saturday generated $17 million in ticket sales and 650,000 pay-per-view sales
UFC 306 generated $22 million at the Sphere in the MMA circuit’s first foray into the venue
Canelo-Berlanga still trails Oleksander Usyk’s heavyweight title victory over Tyson Fury, which reportedly drew 1.5 million PPV buys in May. However, that bout generated only $3 million in gate revenue at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Arena.
Making his eighth super middleweight title defense, the 34-year-old Alvarez (61-2-2) dominated much of the fight, using his experience and tenacious pursuit to wear down the 27-year-old challenger, frequently sending 20,312 fans into a frenzy, often chanting ‘Mexico! Mexico!’ or ‘CA-NEL-O! CA-NEL-O!’
Berlanga lost for the first time in his career, dropping to 22-1-0.
‘I did good. Now what are they going to say? They said I don’t fight young fighters,’ Alvarez said. ‘They always talk, but I’m the best fighter in the world.’
Judges Max DeLuca and Steve Weisfeld scored the fight 118-109, and judge David Sutherland had it 117-110.
Berlanga almost matched Alvarez’s punch output, but the champion was much more accurate. Alvarez landed 43.3 percent (201 of 464) of the punches he threw, while Berlanga connected on just 119 of 446 (26.7 percent). Alvarez also landed 49.1 percent (133 of 271) of his power punches.
Alvarez, a four-division champion, still hasn’t ended a fight early since scoring a technical knockout of Caleb Plant nearly three years ago, when he became the undisputed champion.
It appeared that drought might end when a sharp left hook to the chin dropped Berlanga in the third round, and further punishment from Alvarez seemed to be taking a toll. Alvarez landed a crisp right uppercut in the fifth and a vicious hook in the sixth.
Canelo Alvarez knocks down Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout Saturday
But Berlanga wouldn’t go away, as he stood toe to toe and matched Alvarez’s machismo, refusing to be bullied by the man he’d call ‘my idol’ after the fight. He also got wild in the seventh, missing a wild overhand right that caused him to fall on the canvas, and was warned for a headbutt to Alvarez’s face in the eighth round.
‘I got a little angry with his tactics, but I’m Mexican man,’ Alvarez said. ‘It means a lot to fight on this day. It’s an honor to represent my country on this day.’
Alvarez closed as a -1600 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook, which means a bettor would have had to wager $1,600 to win $100.
The IBF removed Alvarez’s title after he chose to fight Berlanga rather than fight its No. 1 challenger, William Scull.
