The top 10 Richest Boxers in 2015

In a dangerous sport like professional boxing, most fighters complete solely for money and fame. There’s always huge money being thrown around and the world’s best boxers can cash in serious prizes from high profile matches and they can also earn a lot from huge endorsement deals.

Everyone earns a lot from high profile boxing matches, from the fighters, coaches and promoters to sponsors, casinos and box-office networks. Just a couple of months ago we’ve had the highest grossing pay-per-view game in history, Mayweather beating his arch rival Pacquiao in Las Vegas in a fight which had more than 4.4 million paid viewers.

The Fight of the Century, as it was called, pulled in more than $400 million from pay-per-view alone, plus more than $70 million in tickets and a ton more from gambling and sponsorships. With all this money in the professional boxing world, the best boxers can make huge fortunes, especially if they manage their finances well.

So today we’ll show you which are the top 10 richest boxers of 2015, a list which had to be adjusted after the fight of the century.

10. Bernard Hopkins – $40 million

Bernard Hopkins started his professional boxing career with a loss on October 11, 1988, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the world’s best boxers. He is the first boxer to have the IBF, WBF, WBO and WBA titles and he even gained himself the nickname “The Executioner” for defending his middleweight title 20 times.

He used to fight as a middleweight but he’s now in the light heavyweight category and, back in 2011 when he was 46 years old, he became the oldest boxer to win a world title, a record that he broke three years later by winning another championship. He’s 50 right now and he’s still not retired, proving everyone that he’s much more than a boxer, he’s a legend. Hopkins managed his money very well, that’s why his net worth today is $40 million.

9. “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler – $45 million

Marvin Hangler was the Undisputed World Middleweight Champion between 1980 and 1987, the second longest title run of the century, and he still has the highest KO percentage of all middleweight champions ever. He liked his nickname so much that he would get mad anytime a reporter said his name without “Marvelous”, that’s why he even added it to his legal name.

He is an inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame and after his boxing career has ended, he started a career in action movies. His current fortune is $45 million.

8. Vitali Klitschko – $65 million

Vitali is the first boxing world champion with a PhD degree and thanks to his powerful punches he was nicknamed Dr. Ironfist. He became a pro back in 1996 and for over two decades he was one of the world’s greatest fighters, never knocked down and only suffering two defeats.

He has won the WBO heavyweight title and held the WBC heavyweight title for close to 10 years, retiring from boxing in 2013 to focus on a career in politics, where he proved to be equally successful. He’s the current Mayor of Kiev and head of the Kiev City State Administration and currently he’s worth $65 million.

7. Muhammad Ali – $80 million

Even if you’re not a big boxing fan, you probably heard of the legendary Muhammad Ali, the greatest heavyweight champ in the history of the sport. His strong personality and his tantalizing moves made him the “Sportsman of the Century” according to Sports Illustrated and the BBC.

He started training since he was 12 years old and won his first heavyweight championship in 1964 when he was 22. He didn’t want to get involved in the Vietnam War and his refusal of conscription led to a loss of the title but he made a huge comeback with some of the most impressive matches in history against Joe Frazier and George Foreman. In 2015 “The Greatest” has a net worth of $80 million.

6. Sugar Ray Leonard – $120 million

With a great career and a mind for business, Sugar Ray was the first boxer to earn over $100 million and was a pioneer in what are the deals of current days. He was considered one of the greatest boxers of the 1980s, winning five world titles and being called the “Boxer of the Decade”. Currently he is working as a sports analyst and still endorses different products, putting his net worth at $120 million at the present time.

5. Lennox Lewis – $140 million

Lennox Lewis is one of the greatest heavyweight champions ever, a 6 foot 5 London legend who secured wins against the best boxers of his time, Evander Holyfield, Vitali Klitchko and Mike Tyson. He even took home a gold medal from the 1988 Olympic games and after he finished his boxing career in 2004, he was even offered a chance to start wrestling.

But the pugilist specialist focused on other things after his professional boxing career has ended, trying his hand at poker and appearing in several films and commercials. His current net worth is $140 million.

4. Oscar De La Hoya – $200 million

“The Golden Boy” made a fortune during his boxing career from pay per view alone and then he focused on promoting and managing other talents through his company Golden Boy Promotions.

After he graduated from high school he won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and during his best years he defeated no less than 17 world champions, gaining ten world titles in six different weight classes. His current net worth is $200 million.

3. George Foreman – $250 million

S“Big George” was two times World heavyweight Champion, winning his first title after defeating Joe Frazier in 1973 and then losing it to Muhammad Ali next year. He started his career with a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics and surprisingly retired in 1977 after a loss against Jimmy Young.

He had an epiphany and became a minister, but after a while he came back in the boxing world and managed to win his second Heavyweight Champion title with a knocking out Michael Moorer. His final retirement only came in 1997 when he was 48 years old. Aside from boxing his fortune also comes from the endorsement of the George Foreman Grill, putting his current wealth at $250 million.

2. Manny Pacquiao – $265 million

The Filipino boxer is the only eight-division world champion, holding ten world titles and the lineal championship in four different weight classes. Growing up on the streets of Manilla, he started boxing when he was just 14 and two years later he was ready for his first professional fight.

After the fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr, he became the second highest paid athlete in 2015, earning over $120 million from that single fight according to Forbes. He might have lost the fight, but he gained even more in popularity and support. His current networth is estimated at $265 million and aside from boxing, he was also involved in basketball, acting and singing and also in politics, being elected to the Philippines House of Representatives.

1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

With eleven world titles and the lineal champion in four different weight classes, Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. is still the undefeated champion of the world, with an incredible fight record of 48-0-0, 26 of his wins being knock outs.

Currently he is worth $415 million, $180 million of his fortune coming this year from the Fight of the Century alone, a record sum which also makes him the world’s highest paid athlete in 2015. He also created his own boxing promotion firm in 2007 after a fallout with Bob Arum and Top Rank, promoting all forms of live entertainment.