The May 5 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto did 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, HBO Sports announced Friday.

The $94 million in revenue generated by Mayweather-Cotto represents the second highest grossing non-heavyweight pay-per-view event in history, trailing only Mayweather’s 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya. That fight did a whopping 2.4 million buys for $137 million in revenue.

Mayweather has now generated 9.6 million buys in his nine pay-per-view fights, representing $540 million in revenue.

Aside from Mayweather-De La Hoya, only four pay-per-view events have surpassed the buy total from Saturday’s fight: Holyfield-Tyson II in June 1997 (1.99 million buys), Lewis-Tyson in June 2002 (1.97 million), Holyfield-Tyson I in November 1996 (1.59 million) and Tyson-McNeeley in August 1995 (1.55 million).

Mayweather improved to 43-0 and captured the WBA super welterweight championship with a unanimous-decision victory over Cotto, but not before enduring what many regarded as his toughest test in years.

HBO will replay the Mayweather-Cotto fight, along with the co-feature between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Shane Mosley, on Saturday night (10:15 p.m. ET/PT).

Mayweather’s 21-month retirement, which ended in 2009, did little to diminish his value as an attraction, as evidenced by subsequent fights with Juan Manuel Marquez (1.05 million buys), Mosley (1.4 million), Victor Ortiz (1.25 million) and Cotto (1.5 million).

Over that span, Manny Pacquiao — Mayweather’s lone rival to the mythical pound-for-pound throne — has posted comparable numbers in fights with Cotto (1.25 million), Josh Clottey (700,000), Antonio Margarito (1.15 million), Mosley (1.34 million) and a third fight with Marquez (1.45 million).

– Bryan Armen Graham

An Internet rumor that gained steam Tuesday alleged Floyd Mayweather failed a drug test related to Saturday’s super welterweight title fight against Miguel Cotto.

“Not true from our end,” said Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, in an email to SI.com. “All tests negative so far.”

Kizer confirmed Mayweather’s post-fight test result was negative, as were those Cotto, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Shane Mosley.

The pre-fight test results will be available on Friday, Kizer said.

– Bryan Armen Graham

The meteoric rise of the UFC hit a pocket of turbulence Tuesday with the release of the ratings for Saturday’s UFC on Fox 3 card.

The May 5 telecast averaged 2.42 million viewers (for a household rating of 1.5), down from 5.7 million for UFC on Fox 1 and 4.7 million for UFC on Fox 2.

By comparison, the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron’s 312, which aired earlier in the day, outdrew it with a 2.0 rating. (And that’s not the highest series of racing in NASCAR). The Kentucky Derby drew a 9.0 overnight rating from 6 and 7 p.m. ET on NBC. It was narrowly beaten by the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals between 12:15 and 3:15 p.m, which posted a household rating of 1.6.

UFC on Fox 3 did earn a rating of 1.6 among 18-to-34-year-old men, its primary demographic, but that’s also down from the promotion’s first (4.3) and second (3.2) network-televised cards since it signed a seven-year multi-media rights agreement with Fox in August.

The main card of Saturday’s event at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., saw lightweight contender Nate Diaz submit Jim Miller. Johny Hendricks, Alan Belcher and Lavar Johnson also prevailed in nationally televised bouts.

UFC on Fox 3 faced competition from both an NBA playoff doubleheader on TNT and the undercard of the super welterweight championship fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto on HBO Pay-Per-View.

UFC on Fox 4 is scheduled for August 4 at Staples Center in Los Angeles (8 p.m. ET, Fox), with Hector Lombard-Brian Stann and Ryan Bader-Lyoto Machida among the headlining bouts.

– Bryan Armen Graham

Here it is. Both Sports Illustrated writers at ringside scored it 116-112 to Mayweather.

Judges Dave Moretti and Patricia Morse Jarman both scored it 117-111 to Floyd, while Robert Hoyle (rather harshly) had it 118-110.

All three judges gave the last four rounds to Mayweather.

Despite lopsided scorecards, Miguel Cotto put up an admirable effort against Floyd Mayweather. (AP)

LAS VEGAS — Three quick thoughts from Floyd Mayweather’s unanimous decision win over Miguel Cotto…

Don’t let the scorecards fool you. This was a fight. Cotto came into the ring with a brilliant gameplan, pushing Mayweather into the corner and making him fight with his back against the ropes. He was competitive in virtually every round and scuffed Mayweather’s face more than any fighter in recent memory. Mayweather was more precise, landing 26 percent of his punches to Cotto’s 21 percent. The judges scored it 117-111 (twice), 118-110 and the consensus was they were right on; SI.com scored it 116-112 for Mayweather. But this decision was in doubt when the fight went into the later rounds and Mayweather will be the first to tell you this was a very difficult fight.

And now…Manny Pacquiao? Mayweather was unusually direct in his post-fight interview, calling for Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to give the fans what they want to see and make a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. But Mayweather is obtuse on the lingering issue, the split. He is insisting on something closer to 60-40 while Arum and Pacquiao are set on 50-50. As long as that gulf exists, this fight is still going to be a fantasy.

Cotto will move on. Cotto did nothing to tarnish his name in the ring, and the big fights will continue to come his way. He’s still an elite 154-pounder and a big pay per view draw with a terrific fan base in New York. Sergio Martinez would love a shot at him while a showdown with Mexican prospect Saul Alvarez–who blew out Shane Mosley on the undercard–would do big business and be a firefight. Cotto’s future now may be brighter than ever.

– Chris Mannix

Evander Holyfield, at 49 years old, says he’s still active and would like to fight for the heavyweight title against one of the Klitschko brothers. (AP)

LAS VEGAS — Evander Holyfield is five months shy of his 50th birthday but the former undisputed heavyweight champion still believes he will be the current  undisputed heavyweight champion.

“I’d like to fight a Klitschko,” Holyfield said Saturday at ringside during the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto fight. “I want to be a champion. I’ll fight any one of the champions.”

Holyfield has been out of the ring since last May, when he knocked out Brian Nielsen. Holyfield says he is still active and hopes to have a fight before the end of the year. But there’s a catch: He says he will only fight again if it is a title fight.

“If I have to fight somebody else, why fight?” Holyfield said. “I’m only interested in championship fights.”

Holyfield could technically fight for a title without going through one of the Klitschkos. Alexander Povetkin holds the WBA “regular” heavyweight title — the organization bizarrely elevated Wladimir Klitschko to “super champion” shortly after he won the title from David Haye — and rumors persist that Povetkin’s promoter, Sauerland Event, is interested in making a Povetkin-Holyfield fight later in the year.

“At the age of 50, I thought I’d be to be out of the game,” Holyfield said. “I thought I would have accomplished all I wanted to accomplish. But I still want to fight for the title.”

– Chris Mannix

Carlos Quintana (left) delivered a notable upset Saturday with his sixth-round knockout of DeAndre Latimore on the Mayweather-Cotto undercard. (AP)

Check back on SI.com later for a full-length column on tonight’s co-feature bout between Canelo Alvarez and Shane Mosley.

LAS VEGAS — Up-and-coming welterweight Jessie Vargas, a much fancied Floyd Mayweather protege, stayed unbeaten (19-0, 9 KOs) with a unanimous-decision victory over late replacement Steve Forbes (35-11, 11 KOs).

“It feels great,” said Vargas, who won by scores of 100-90, 97-93 and 98-92 on the three judges’ scorecards. “I showed my boxing skills. I was in there with a veteran and I outboxed him. It was a totally different game plan with just a week to prepare, [but] I showed I can box any style.”

Said Forbes: “He moved around more than I thought. It was smart on his side. I’m not really a welterweight and I took this fight at the last minute; I thought it was a closer fight than [the scores].”

Carlos Quintana, a former welterweight titleholder considered well past his prime, surprised the half-full MGM Grand Garden Arena with a vicious sixth-round knockout of DeAndre Latimore. The 35-year-old Quintana (29-3, 23 KOs) punctuated a string of punches with a lunging left that floored Latimore (23-4, 17 KOs), a well-regarded Mayweather Promotions prospect, who nearly rolled out of the ring before rising to his feet. Yet referee Kenny Bayless was unsatisfied with Latimore’s response, calling a stop to the halt to the action at 2:19 of the sixth.

“It was a very good fight, I’m very happy,” Quinatana said afterward, who predicted a “very good night for Puerto Rico.”

“I kept going for his eye and it paid off,” said Quintana, who connected on 108 of 328 punches (33 percent), compared to 55 of 237 (23 percent) for Latimore. “I went 15 months without fighting, so it’s great to be back.”

Miguel Cotto and his wife observed the Quintana upset from ringside before retreating to the locker room afterward to prepare for the main event.

In the last fight of the non-PPV undercard, Puerto Rican featherweight prospect Braulio Santos (6-0, 5 KOs) scored a unanimous-decision victory over Juan Sandoval (5-9-1, 3 KOs) of San Bernardino, Calif. Extended the distance for the first time in his career, Santos roughed his way to a wide but hard-fought verdict, winning 59-55 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Omar Figueroa (16-0-1, 13 KOs) scored a second-round TKO of Robbie Cannon (12-7-2, 6 KOs) in an eight-round lightweight fight. Figueroa, of Weslaco, Texas,  floored Cannon with a body shot in the first round, then again in the second before referee Vic Drakulich intervened at the 2:08 mark.

Keith Thurman (17-0, 16 KOs) stopped Brandon Hoskins (16-1-1, 8 KOs) at 0:25 of the third round in an eight-round welterweight bout.

In the night’s first bout, welterweight prospect and San Diego native Antonio Orozco (14-0, 10 KOs) continued his rise with a third-round TKO of Dillet Frederick (8-6-3, 5 KOs) of Fort Myers, Fla.

– Bryan Armen Graham

Click to enlarge the most recent odds sheet for Saturday’s super welterweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto.

LAS VEGAS — As tonight’s Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto fight draws near, the most recent odds from the MGM Grand sports book are reflecting moderate late action on the underdog.

Mayweather remains a lopsided favorite in the super welterweight title fight (9 p.m. ET, $59.95, HBO PPV), though the odds against Cotto have shortened to 5-to-1 at press time — down from 6-to-1 earlier this week.

The trend should come as no surprise to anyone who attended Friday’s weigh-in, where crowd support skewed heavily in support of Cotto. More than 6,000 fans booed lustily when footage of Mayweather’s knockout of Mexican-American champion Victor Ortiz was shown on dual projection screens, stoking passions that had already been running high during Cinco de Mayo weekend.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who opened as a 10-to-1 favorite against Shane Mosley in tonight’s co-feature bout, was a 9-to-1 favorite on Saturday, one of the busiest days of the year at the 5,300-square-foot betting arena.

Hordes of soccer fans made for an energetic, standing-room-only environs Saturday morning, as Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup Final was broadcast in nearly half of the thirty-six 60-inch plasma televisions and twenty-four 42-inch screens. Even at 11 a.m. local time, the line of bettors extended far past the windows outside the state-of-the-art betting parlor, thanks to a full slate of events including tonight’s fights, the Kentucky Derby, the NBA and NHL playoff and Major League Baseball games.

One middle-aged punter insisted the smart money on tonight’s Mayweather-Cotto fight was the rounds proposition: If the fight ends before the 10th round, a $100 bet returns $190 in winnings. If the fight extends past the 10th, it requires a wager of $230 to win $100.

“Cotto’s a bleeder and he’ll be there to hit,” said Stephen Thompson, a longtime fight fan (and Chelsea supporter) visiting from London. “I see cuts playing a role in the fight and the referee will have no choice but to stop it.”

– Bryan Armen Graham

Floyd Mayweather (left) and Miguel Cotto had a heated exchange during Friday afternoon’s weigh-in. (Tom Hogan/Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions)

LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather often says boos don’t bother him. All he hears is the ch-ching of a cash register.

Surely then Mayweather heard a gold mine during Friday afternoon’s weigh-in at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where a standing-room-only crowd of more than 6,000 fans made no secret of their antipathy for the most divisive figure in boxing today.

Hours after it was announced Mayweather will earn at least $32 million for Saturday’s super welterweight title fight — a guaranteed figure expected to swell to more than $50 million after the pay-per-view receipts are counted — the undefeated 35-year-old tipped the scales at a career-high 151 pounds. Cotto weighed in at 154, coming in right at the division limit.

The tense staredown that followed seemed to stretch into eternity, with Mayweather chomping on gum centimeters from Cotto’s emotionless face, surrounded by a maelstrom of team members and hangers-on. And then Floyd started talking.

“I just told him, ‘When you’re facing Floyd Mayweather, you’re facing the best,’” said Mayweather, a 7.5-to-1 favorite according to the latest odds at the MGM Grand sports book. “I don’t feel like I’m just any ordinary opponent and I don’t want him thinking I’m just an ordinary opponent.”

Said Cotto: “I’m here to fight. If he wants to run, I’m ready for that. If he wants to face me, I’m ready for that. I’m ready for everything.”

Fans had started lining up as early as 7 a.m. local time, six hours before the doors opened for the weigh-in, which was free. They carried signs, flags and brought noisemakers, often jeering Mayweather when his image was shown on the large projection screens. Several hundred were turned away from the gate hours before the first fighters hit the scales at 2:45 p.m.

Earlier, Shane Mosley came in a half-pound over the 154-pound limit for his super welterweight title fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who hit 154 on the nose. The 40-year-old Mosley, who appeared shocked when informed he was over, returned to the scale a half-hour later and made weight.

– Bryan Armen Graham

Floyd Mayweather (left) will try to capture the WBA super welterweight championship held by Miguel Cotto (right) when they meet Saturday night. (AP)

SI.com’s boxing experts predict Saturday’s super welterweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto (9 p.m. ET, HBO PPV). Share your prediction in the comments below.

CHRIS MANNIX

This would have been a great fight six years ago, when Mayweather and Cotto were at the top of the 140-pound division. But too much time, too many beatings (for Cotto) have passed to make this fight anything more than it is: another high-profile win for Mayweather. Cotto won’t be a pushover; his experience and ring generalship, coupled with his comfort at 154 pounds should make it interesting early. But Mayweather is a master at hitting and not getting hit. He will pot-shot Cotto from a distance and rattle him in the later rounds. It will go the full distance but when the final bell rings there won’t be any doubt who the winner is. Mayweather by unanimous decision.

RICHARD O’BRIEN

Cotto’s recent outings have been remarkable: Not only has he bounced back from the Margarito beating (a harrowing defeat that many assumed had ruined him for good) and from the loss to Pacquiao to produce wins over Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga and Margarito (a particularly impressive and sweet victory), he has also shown that he has evolved into a more complete and effective fighter than ever.

Does that mean he has a real shot at beating Mayweather? I don’t think so. But for all of us who’ve been waiting to see Floyd at least extended a bit, Saturday night could bring some satisfaction. Once thought of as little more than an aggressive banger, Cotto has developed into a very skilled and effective boxer, a true elite. He outpointed Shane Mosley, after all, back when Mosley was far closer to his best then he was when he faced Mayweather. At the same time Cotto remains a brutally strong and rugged customer. Think of the briefly effective swarming tactics that Victor Ortiz tried on Mayweather (shortly before Floyd gave him a percussive spanking for his cheekiness); Cotto has the muscle and power to try something of the same — as well as the ring smarts not to lose control in the process.

Yet Cotto’s most promising gambit might not be to try to jump on Mayweather early — likely sending himself into a nightmare ride of shoulder-rolls, counterpunches and potshots that he’d never get out of. Cotto’s skilled enough to box early and slow the tempo and try to get Floyd to open up a bit himself. Eventually Cotto will need to get close and to bang, but if he can do it without reaching, he will limit the damage he sustains and make himself more effective.

In the end, though, Mayweather adjusts too well and has a reservoir of skills and physical gifts that is just too deep, and I see Cotto finally going under. A tougher fight than Floyd has had in a while, but he makes it 43 wins in 43 tries. Mayweather by late-round stoppage.

BRYAN ARMEN GRAHAM

Mayweather’s demand of eight-ounce gloves for Saturday’s fight — his second outing at 154 pounds and first since a split-decision win over Oscar De La Hoya five years ago this week — is noteworthy because it would seem to favor the punching power that’s Cotto’s only apparent advantage. It tells me Floyd sees a someone in front of him who doesn’t have much left. Fact is, Cotto has been shrewdly matched since his 2009 knockout loss to Pacquiao: a feather-fisted Yuri Foreman; a shopworn Ricardo Mayorga; an Antonio Margarito who’s done virtually nothing (0-3 against world class opposition) since getting caught with loaded gloves. Cotto’s soft skin, not to mention the considerable scar tissue around his eyes, is prone to bleeding; the fact is not lost on Mayweather and I expect him to take full advantage.

Cotto must know he can’t outbox the sport’s consummate stylist — at least not for anything longer-term than a change-of-pace tactic — so look for him to crowd and pressure the unbeaten challenger and attempt to lure him into a slugfest. Easier said than done. Look for Mayweather to control the pace and style, connecting with lead rights, counters and uppercuts, adjusting on the fly and generally showing why he’s the top pound-for-pound fighter of his generation. Mayweather isn’t a volume puncher, but he picks his shots extremely well and the damage will accumulate until referee Tony Weeks intervenes. Mayweather by late-round stoppage.