Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor: The most anticipated fight

A retired boxer faces a debutant as a professional. Only in the world of Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor can a fight be attractive and not only that, but aspire to become the best-selling of all time.

At 29 years old, the Irishman, who has not yet defended the UFC lightweight title, became the only one who could offer that to Money, who disappointed with his pay-per-view sales in his farewell fight against Andre Berto, after setting historic numbers in May 2015, when he faced Filipino Manny Pacquiao in a duel that boxing fans had been demanding for six years.

The face-off on Saturday, with boxing rules, but that will bring together the ultimate star of mixed martial arts and the king of boxing, faces a very high bar, difficult to surpass in times when pay-per-view is nearing extinction due to new platforms, piracy, and the disappointments that fans have experienced with fights that have not lived up to expectations, like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

However, that evening at the MGM Grand Garden was the one that set the standards for what Mayweather Promotions is trying to achieve on Saturday, and if they don't break the records, it could all become a simple anecdote.

The first goal is to surpass the 4.4 million pay-per-view sales that were sold just over two years ago, which represents almost a quarter of what the American achieved in his 21-year career; in total, he amassed a figure of 19.5 million in that area.

McGregor will contribute in that sense. The promotional tour visited Toronto and London because they are markets where the transmission can also be charged for.

Although their boxing tradition is not extensive, Canada is one of the biggest consumers of the UFC and the United Kingdom will rally to support the son of Dublin in his attempt to challenge history.

His presence also opens the doors to another MMA-loving country, Brazil, with the largest contingent of viewers after the United States, and it will be broadcasted on Combate, the pay-per-view channel that airs UFC fights.

Thus, the total audience in the United States could exceed 50 million viewers, but when adding territories like Mexico, South America, Asia, Oceania, and the rest of Europe, it has a potential that exceeds one billion viewers.

TheNotorious is 11 years younger than his opponent, which projects him to surpass those records when his career in MMA and boxing is over. To date, he has sold nearly 6 million pay-per-view sales in four available events.

The other milestone they face is ticket sales. MayPac set the highest box office record in the history of the state of Nevada with $72 million, an unprecedented figure for an arena of that size.

In comparison, the highest-grossing fight for McGregor in terms of ticket sales was the most recent one, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden in New York, surpassing the $11 million mark set in 1999.

The projection for this year is aiming for $600 million in revenue, but it will be confirmed on Saturday.