Mayweather-Guerrero fight draws 1 million PPV

LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s win over Robert Guerrero was an artistic success, but not a box-office smash.

Early tallies show the fight will exceed 1 million pay-per-view buys, the Showtime network said Friday. That’s short of the 1.5 million buys for Mayweather’s previous fight against Miguel Cotto.

“It’s a number we’re very pleased with,” said Stephen Espinoza, head of Showtime Sports. “The fact the event generated at least 1 million buys and didn’t have the benefit of a Mayweather opponent who had been in pay-per-views or was a well-established name in the sport is a huge testament to Floyd’s buying power.”

The fight last Saturday was the first for Mayweather on Showtime under a six-fight deal that lured the boxer from his former home at HBO. Mayweather won a unanimous 12-round decision to remain unbeaten in 44 fights.

Espinoza said the lack of a big-name opponent and Guerrero’s arrest on gun charges in New York were factors in the fight not doing better. Showtime promoted the bout with 100 hours of programming, including a documentary on sister network CBS that aired in prime time before the fight.

The fight drew 15,880 fans for a live gate of $9.9 million.

Espinoza said negotiations have begun for Mayweather’s next fight - Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. A possible opponent could be Mexican star Canelo Alvarez, though that fight could be delayed until next May to build a bigger audience.

“For my money the biggest fight out there is Mayweather vs. Canelo,” Espinoza said. “So far talks are going well and I believe everyone involved is going to be working to make it happen. Breaking the pay-per-view record of (Oscar) De La Hoya and Mayweather would be our goal in that fight.”

The 2007 fight between De La Hoya and Mayweather was the biggest pay-per-view fight, bought by 2.5 million homes.