Battle of the broadcast

After 12 rounds of what announcers dubbed “the fight of the century”, Floyd Mayweather Jr. won the welterweight championship at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 2nd against Philippine native- Manny Picquiao. Though perhaps the true fight was between the cable companies and social media. In fact, due to the strong demand for last minute purchasing of the fight on pay per view, the fight was actually delayed because of stalling within the cable and satellite systems.

“It was the night of prom and we were all at the after party house waiting to watch the fight but we couldn’t get it to load,” junior Alex Salmon said.

For those unable to order the fight through their cable company, they were able to divert their viewing to free streaming Meerkat and Twitter’s Periscope. These video companies allowed viewers to broadcast the fight from the internet or on their smart phones. With a prediction of nearly 3 million households purchasing the fight at about $100 per home, achieving to be the most profitable fight in pay-per-view history.

“I watched the fight on my computer from a live stream, it was much better than spending the $100 because the fight did not even meet my expectations,” senior Christopher Rosario said.

At age 38, Mayweather stands at a 5ft 8in frame. His opponent, Picquiao age 36 stands at a 5ft 6in frame. Mayweather won the title of Welterweight champion and shall receive 60% of the $300 million that he splits, with Picquiao taking 40%. Mayweather’s undefeated streak of 48-0 was not hindered alongside his six-hundred million dollar career.

“The fight was interesting I guess, but it wasn’t what I expected,” freshman Adriana Rojas said. “We paid $100 for it on our TV and I was expecting more excitement.