Floyd Mayweather Guaranteed At Least $32 Million For Maidana Fight

Kurt BadenhausenForbes Staff

Floyd Mayweather is set for another huge payday when he faces Marcos Maidana Saturday night in Las Vegas in the welterweight unification fight. The Nevada State Athletic Commission released contract figures Wednesday showing Mayweather is guaranteed $32 million and Maidana $1.5 million. Both fighters will also share in pay-per-view revenue if the bout is a box-office success with the bulk of the proceeds flowing into Mayweather’s bank account. It marks the ninth straight fight where Mayweather will pocket at least $25 million.

The fight is the third in the blockbuster contract Mayweather signed with Showtime last year. The five-time world champion earned about $34 million for his first Showtime fight against Robert Guerrero in May 2013 (the guarantee was $32 million). The one-sided fight garnered one million PPV buys, according to Showtime (others argue it was well under one million) and Mayweather’s share in the PPV upside was limited.

Mayweather has been money in and out of the ring during his nearly two decades as a pro.

There was plenty of upside for his September showdown with Canelo Alvarez billed as “The One.” The fight shattered the record for PPV revenue with $150 million on 2.2 million buys. It also set a record for biggest live gate at $20 million (Mayweather-Maidana is expected to be Las Vegas’ fourth largest live gate at $15 million). Mayweather was guaranteed a record $41.5 million for the Canelo fight, but banked more than $80 million, including his share of PPV revenue. Mayweather’s total earnings for 2013 topped $100 million and his career earnings are greater than $350 million.

Mayweather is the biggest PPV star on the planet with his last eight fights averaging nearly 1.5 million PPV buys. The Maidana fight is unlikely to sniff 1.5 million buys, but Mayweather has been doing his best to promote the fight this week. He talked about retirement Tuesday night and told reporters, “I’m being honest- I be contemplating every day, talking about getting out of the sport now. I’m very comfortable. Very comfortable.” Translation: buy the Maidana PPV, as this could be your last chance to see Mayweather in action. Don’t bet on it. Mayweather still has three fights left on his Showtime deal and should earn in excess of $100 million for them.

Mayweather also threw his name in the ring for everybody’s favorite parlor game this week: who will be the next owner of the Los Angeles Clippers? “Do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes, we do. We’re very, very interested in buying the Clippers,” said Mayweather. He joins Magic Johnson, David Geffen, Larry Ellison, Oprah Winfrey, Oscar De La Hoya and a host of others, who reportedly are interested in the team.

Mayweather is a huge favorite going into Saturday’s fight with the latest odds at 11-1 that he will run his record to 46-0. He is going to get paid win, lose or draw. Money Mayweather always does.

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