Written by Daniel Rapaport at SI.com
The Aug. 26 superfight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will be shown at select movie theaters across the country.
ESPN’s Dan Rafael first reported that Fathom Events and Mayweather Productions have collaborated to bring the broadcast to the big screen. Rafael reports that the broadcast shown in these theaters will be identical to one shown on Showtime, with one key difference: Showtime’s pay per view broadcast will cost $99.95 per television, while tickets to the theater showings will be significantly less, but still may run up to $40.
“The buzz that my fight against Conor McGregor is getting has been great already, so what better way to watch this larger than life event than on the big screen? We brought boxing back to movie theaters eight years ago and it was a huge success,” Mayweather said. “But this event is on a different level and I’m so glad we are giving fans another way to see all the action. Grab your popcorn because this is a fight no one will want to miss.”
Still, that $40 will surely turn away some potential viewers, as it makes more financial sense to split the fight with (two or more) friends than to pay $40 per seat at a theater.
Bro movie theaters are going to be showing the Mayweather/ McGregor fight 😱 legendary lol
— Sincere (@__BRANDnew__) July 26, 2017
Buzz for the fight between the 49-0 Mayweather and MMA star/boxing newcomer McGregor has been remarkable, thanks in part to a week-long promotional tour that put both fighters’ propensity for trash talk and self-aggrandizement on display.
