The heavily hyped Aug. 26 Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor pay-per-view boxing match proved to be worth the wait for both distributors and fans, and industry executives said they hope it boosts future pay-per-view boxing and UFC events.

Showtime last Friday reported that the fight, in which boxer Floyd Mayweather improved his record to 50-0 with a 10th round TKO over the game UFC/mixed martial arts champion McGregor — is expected to draw in the “mid to high” 4 million PPV buy range, which would potentially knock out the record 4.6 million buys generated by Mayweather’s 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao. It could also eclipse the $450 million generated by the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout.

“We consider this a huge success,” Showtime Sports and Event Programming executive vice president and general manager Stephen Espinoza told Multichannel News. “We could very well break the record — we just haven’t seen enough of the data to definitively say that — we’re either over the record or very close. Even if we don’t break the record, it’s still a massive success.”

Some MVPDs were reportedly overwhelmed by a flurry of last-minute fight purchases, to the point where Showtime officials said the Mayweather-McGregor main event was “slowed down” to allow distributors to complete orders. Espinoza, though, said there were no major distributor problems regarding buys. “We didn’t even experience the level of technical issues that we saw on Mayweather-Pacquiao,” he added.

Espinoza also called reports that the network’s new Showtime PPV app suffered major technological problems during the event “exaggerated,” saying that the network only received a “limited” number of complaints, which were quickly addressed. Showtime will provide refunds to those who were unable to see the purchased event, he added.

UFC’s website UFC.TV also struggled to keep up with demand, prompting the company to issue several post-fight statements regarding the issue. UFC said it is reviewing each consumer complaint on a “case-by-case basis,” adding that it was “disappointed by the technical difficulties that were experienced … We are working with our vendor NeuLion to assess exactly what happened.”

UFC president Dana White also said in a statement: “Nothing is more important to the UFC than our fans. They’ve always been incredibly loyal and supportive, and we’ll always take care of them.”

Some 3 million viewers watched the fight illegally, according to video security company Irdeto. Espinoza admitted that it was nearly impossible to totally eliminate illegal viewing of the fight given its magnitude.

“Like all events with this kind of appeal, we’re going to have people who will try to view it illegally,” he said. “We took, along with our partners, unprecedented action both before and during the fight to block and remove as many of the illegal streams as possible. ”

Despite the online problems, most industry observers said the fight inside the ring was better than expected, with UFC champion McGregor holding his own in his first ever boxing match, and will easily finish as the year’s most lucrative PPV event.

Former HBO head of pay-per-view Mark Taffet said the fight will generate significant momentum for both the PPV boxing and UFC categories. Both sports have PPV events scheduled over the next two weeks: The UFC will distribute its Sept. 9 UFC 215 pay-per-view event featuring Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg, while HBO will offer its Sept. 16 Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin bout.

“Mayweather-McGregor clearly exceeded fans’ expectations, and that is great news for both boxing and UFC,” Taffet said. “It bodes well for both sports, and I think it’s one of those great instances in which everyone comes out a winner — boxing, MMA, McGregor, Mayweather and the fans.”

The Sept. 12 Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Andre Berto fight could be bittersweet for pay-per-view distributors, as Mayweather, the category’s biggest draw, is expected to retire after the event.

While the bout for the WBC and WBA welterweight titles could draw as many as 1 million buys, according to fight distributor Showtime, the 38-yearold Mayweather last Wednesday (Sept. 2) reiterated to reporters his plans to retire after the fight during a conference call to promote the event. This week, promoters Showtime and CBS opened up a pay streaming option to add another option for potential buyers -- an unusual move for a big PPV fight.

If Mayweather does walk away from the ring after battling the 31-year-old Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he would do so as the most lucrative draw in the history of the PPV category.

Mayweather led all athletes and entertainers in generating more than $870 million in PPV revenues, according to Forbes. That was before his record-setting May 2 fight against Manny Pacquiao, which generated more than $400 million in PPV revenue.

“While I will leave it up to others to debate Floyd’s position among the all-time greatest boxers, I can say he is undoubtedly the all-time PPV king,” Mark Boccardi, In Demand’s senior vice president of programming and business development, said.

PPV LEGACY ASSURED

Showtime Sports executive vice president and general manager Stephen Espinoza has said that Saturday’s Mayweather-Berto event — which will retail for a suggested $64.95 — could draw in excess of 1 million buys, despite the relatively unknown status of former welterweight champion Berto. Espinoza said he doesn’t expect the fight to come anywhere close to the more than record 4.4 million buys generated by Mayweather-Pacquiao, though.

What Espinoza said he doesn’t have to predict is Mayweather’s legacy in the sport and the PPV category. “I don’t think that there is any question that Floyd Mayweather is the greatest PPV draw ever,” Espinoza said.

“He’s surpassed 2 million PPV buys three times,” the Showtime executive added, referring to Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez in 2013 and Mayweather-Pacquiao this year. “No other fighter has done it more than once,” Espinoza said. “He’s really separated himself from any other attraction.”

Mayweather’s appeal as a PPV draw extended beyond his in-ring exploits, Boccardi said. The fighter’s social-media appeal — Mayweather has millions of Twitter followers — as well as his appearances in entertainment-based vehicles from Dancing With the Stars to the WWE’s Wrestlemania have helped Mayweather create a brand that has transcended boxing.

“Not only is he incredibly gifted in the ring, but he’s also the sport of boxing’s first superstar in the Internet/reality-TV generation — he’s created another aura outside the ring because of the generation that we live in,” Boccardi said. “He’s a boxer that to some people is more famous for being a character on TV than a fighter, but he backs it up by being so talented in the ring.”

While Mayweather has set the template for being a successful PPV event draw, Boccardi said it won’t be easy for other up-and-coming fighters to replicate Mayweather’s success both in and out of the ring.

“The way he did it worked well with his personality, but it’s not going to work for everyone,” Boccardi said. “The old saying [that] you can’t fit a square peg into a round hole holds true here — you can’t take a guy that might be gifted in the ring but is shy and not confrontational and try to create another Mayweather.”

COULD HE ‘UNRETIRE?’

Of course, there is the potential that the industry will see Mayweather in the ring again after the Berto fight. Mayweather has retired and unretired in the past, and with a chance to build a 2016 mega PPV event around breaking legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 mark in his next fight — assuming he gets by Berto — industry observers say it’s a good bet we’ll see Mayweather back in the ring.

Even Espinoza said Showtime would likely look to coax the undefeated champion back for one more go-round. Saturday’s Mayweather-Berto fight is the last bout in a six-fight PPV deal between Mayweather and Showtime.

“There’s a good amount of disbelief about Mayweather’s plans to retire, largely because he’s still operating at such a high level,” Espinoza said. “But he’s 19 years in, and that’s a long time to be a fighter, so I understand the disbelief, but I also hear in Floyd’s voice that he’s ready to call it a career.

“Having said all of that, we’re going to try, but for the time being he has said to us, don’t call me, I’ll call you for the foreseeable future.”