The fight took place at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada under the promotion of
Golden Boy Promotions. It was contested at 154 pounds, with De La Hoya defending his WBC light middleweight championship. Tickets sold out three hours after they went on sale on Saturday, January 27, 2007. With the sellout, the bout generated over $19 million in live gate, beating the previous record of $16,860,300 set by the June 28, 1997, heavyweight championship
rematch between
Evander Holyfield and
Mike Tyson at the
Thomas & Mack Center. The fight was televised on
HBO pay-per-view, with the cost to watch the fight at $55 in the U.S.
Hype As part of the buildup for the fight,
HBO produced an unprecedented four-part prelude. The series, titled
De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, aired installments on the final three Sundays of April, with the fourth installment airing on Thursday, May 3, two days before the fight. The series focused on each fighter's training and preparation for the bout. A subplot to the fight concerned whether De La Hoya would be trained by
Floyd Mayweather Sr., the estranged father of Mayweather Jr. Mayweather Sr. had served as De La Hoya's trainer since 2001. Mayweather Sr. announced his willingness to train De La Hoya after initially declining to oppose his son, but demanded a $2 million fee in light of the enormous revenue to be generated by the fight. De La Hoya declined to meet Mayweather Sr.'s demands, making a counteroffer of $500,000 guaranteed plus an additional $500,000 contingent on De La Hoya winning the fight. Ultimately, the sides were unable to come to an agreement and De La Hoya hired the highly respected
Freddie Roach to be his
cornerman instead. Although Mayweather Sr. reunited with his son at the start of Floyd Jr.'s training camp, he had no official role, as Floyd Jr. opted to retain his uncle, Roger Mayweather, as his trainer instead. Mayweather Sr. left the camp by the end of April, upset over not being chosen as trainer and by comments made by his son and brother during the taping of the
24/7 show. ==The fight==