SURGE OF LAST MINUTE ORDERS FOR DE LA HOYA/MAYWEATHER FIGHT CRASHES DIRECTV SYSTEM
By: Bob Ryder
5/5/2007 8:45:34 PM

A surge of last minute orders for tonight's De Le Hoya vs Mayweather fight has overwhelmed DirecTV.com and is forcing the satellite system to take orders by phone and process them manually.

The fight is expected to produce the largest pay per view audience seen by a boxing event in several years. After years of lackluster fights that saw mixed martial arts events like UFC grab market share, the boxing industry is looking at this fight to return the sport to the glory years that saw huge buys for Mike Tyson fights. Interest has been fueled by a months long promotional campaign with HBO airing a four part series leading up to the fight.

DirecTV is asking customers to be patient as they work to get their system online in time for the fight. Callers who are able to get through are being added manually, but may not be updated in the system in time for the 9pm ET start time.