Floyd Mayweather loves to shock people. The always outspoken boxer has never been shy about making a big move or speaking his mind. On Tuesday, Mayweather made two announcements, one that could change the overall landscape of boxing forever. Mayweather announced via a press release from Mayweather Promotions that he will be returning to the ring on May 4 for a fight against Robert Guerrero. The second announcement is that Mayweather has signed a multi-fight deal with Showtime, ending his career with HBO.
The financial details of the arrangement have not been released, but the contract is a six-fight, 30-month deal with Showtime. The move comes as a bit of a surprise to boxing fans. Mayweather has spent his entire career with HBO, earning the network tons of money per fight. The fights will receive promotion and coverage on CBS and other various networks under the CBS Corporation umbrella. The deal is a multi-revenue sharing agreement that will earn both parties large amounts of money.
The announcement of the Guerrero fight was not one of a surprise. Mayweather will fight to defend his welterweight world title against the interim titlist at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. This is Mayweather's seventh time fighting at that location. The schedule of the new Showtime deal is a bit ambitious. The Guerrero fight will be his third fight in three years. One of Mayweather's top advisers, Leonard Ellerbe, says his client has every intention of fighting all six scheduled matches under the new deal.
Mayweather is currently the highest paid athlete in the world, earning an average of $42.5 million for his last two fights. The new deal will only make him even more money. He is likely to be receiving a large cut of the pay-per-view sales. The presence of Mayweather will give Showtime more exposure and likely more subscribers. This could earn Mayweather upwards of $50 million a fight if things go well.
Mayweather would not have moved from HBO is the contract was not big enough. The network clearly got out-bid for their biggest star. Showtime will plan on attaching another large fight onto the PPV with Mayweather creating blockbuster events with high-profile competition. This sort of planning could change boxing and the way people view it. The Showtime contract could create a trend of other big named boxers signing large agreements with certain networks in an effort to earn more money. The deal is a huge blow for HBO who will likely lose revenue due to Mayweather leaving.
