Where Does World’s Richest Boxer Floyd Mayweather Stand on Highest-Paid Athletes of All Time List?

A few days ago, Sportico, a leading sports content publication, shed some light on a piece of information. Some might find it quite interesting. The article extensively covered the highest-earning sporting personalities in history, delving into their remarkable financial achievements. Any boxers in there?

Yes, who else but Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr. The undefeated former champion has long retired from active boxing. However, he still retains his position as the world’s richest boxer. Why wouldn’t he deserve to be there? After all, out of the ten highest-earning boxing fights of all time, he participated in five, including the highest-grosser ever. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-born boxer, who turned forty-seven this year, still remains active, traveling across the globe to fight exhibition matches.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Punches Through Pay Barriers

The ‘Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletes of All Time‘ began with Michael Jordan. The NBA legend’s income, after adjusting for inflation, stood at around $3.75 billion. Golfer Tiger Woods followed with $2.66 billion. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who reportedly received the highest salary in the history of professional soccer, came in third with $1.92 billion. Thankfully, boxing had a savior.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s name appeared in tenth place with a reported inflation-adjusted income of $1.48 billion. He remains the only boxer to have made it to the exclusive list. After winning the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Mayweather Jr. switched to professional boxing. Over the next two decades, climbing through different divisions, he won 15 world championship titles.

Towards the latter half of his career, the Olympic-bronze-winning boxer started participating in matches, which rewarded him not only in terms of his legacy but big paydays as well.

‘Money’: Counting the Wins and the Dollars

Apart from the guaranteed purse, he received a share of the overall pay-per-view revenue. Thus, his earnings during those matches increased manifold. For instance, beginning with the 2007 Oscar De La Hoya fight that witnessed $136 million in PPV revenue, Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s overall take-home pay reportedly stood at around $25 million.

The 2012 Miguel Cotto fight followed, where the champion boxer received around $45 million. After the 2013 Canelo Alvarez fight, where Mayweather Jr. took home approximately $75 million, came the record-breaking ‘Fight of the Century’ with Manny Pacquiao. It witnessed 4.6 million pay-per-view subscriptions, generating roughly $410 million. ‘The Money’ reportedly made $147 million from the 2015 bout.

With 4.3 million PPV buys, the 2017 match with UFC champion Conor McGregor fell short of the Pacquiao fight in terms of pay-per-view revenue. Nevertheless, it left Floyd Mayweather Jr. richer by $300 million. In fact, if his earnings from the fights, both professional and exhibition, till date, are included, the total gross crosses $1.7 billion.

Other names on the Sportico list included Arnold Palmer (4th), LeBron James (5th), Jack Nicklaus (6th), Lionel Messi (7th), David Beckham (8th), and Roger Federer (9th). The article also detailed how the collaboration between Nike and Michael Jordan became so successful over the years. While the brand’s popularity surged by leaps and bounds, the basketball legend’s income by way of royalties mounted.

Read More: “There Are Levels to Wealth”: Fans Go Wild as Floyd Mayweather Casually Calls His Pilot as if He Is Booking Uber in Forgotten Clip

What are your views? Do you think, in the current generation, any boxer would be able to breach Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s PPV record?

Also Read: Floyd Mayweather Makes ‘World’s Richest Athlete’ Michael Jordan Look Broke With His ‘Billion-Dollar’ Possessions