UK Boxing
The ‘next Floyd Mayweather’ earns £102m a year and Jake Paul’s earnings dwarf
Jake Paul had a lucrative 2025 (Photo: Getty Images)
The world’s highest-paid boxers have been revealed, with the fighter dubbed the “recent Floyd Mayweather” clearly outperforming his rivals. That man is Canelo Alvarez, who earned an astonishing £102 million in 2025. When earnings across all sports are taken into account, only Cristiano Ronaldo generated more earnings, according to Sporty.
The Portuguese striker has topped the overall rankings after raising a remarkable £195 million over the last year. While Alvarez finished second on the list, boxing had circumscribed representation, with only three other fighters making the top 100: Terence Crawford, Naoya Inoue and Jake Paul. Crawford leads the group in 21st place, earning around £49m in 2025 – mainly thanks to his gripping victory over Alvarez in their September clash. Inoue will appear in 25th place with £46m, closely followed by Paul in 30th place, who took home just under £45m.
Alvarez, who suffered his first professional loss to Mayweather in 2013, later took over the American’s status as the biggest name in boxing outside the heavyweight ranks. At the age of 35, the Mexican superstar has won world titles in four divisions – from welterweight to delicate heavyweight – and is widely viewed as one of the top welterweight talents of his era.
While the loss to Crawford hit his legacy difficult, the same couldn’t be said for his bank account. Alvarez recently agreed an attractive four-fight contract with Saudi top boxer Turki Alalshikh, worth around £240 million.
EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Find all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
This partnership began with a decision victory over William Scull in May in Riyad, followed by a blockbuster fight against Crawford in September in Las Vegas. Crawford then retired immediately, retiring with an unblemished 42-0 record, eliminating any chance of a rematch. Alvarez announced that he would return to the ring this September after undergoing elbow surgery.
Terence Crawford (left) and Canelo Alvarez (right) are the two highest-paid boxers in 2025 (Photo: AP)
Inoue also signed a lucrative contract with Alalshikh and boxed four times in 2025. The Japanese bantamweight is still undefeated with a record of 32-0, with 27 of his wins coming by knockout.
Meanwhile, internet sensation Paul had two fights last year. He scored points over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June before being stopped by Anthony Joshua in December. His six-round defeat to AJ attracted over 33 million viewers and accounted for the majority of his annual earnings.
Behind Ronaldo and Alvarez, Lionel Messi is third in the earnings table after earning £97 million in 2025. He is followed by baseball star Juan Soto (£96.5m) and NBA great LeBron James (£96m) to round out the top five.
Cristiano Ronaldo tops the earnings list with £195 million (Photo: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
Next in the rankings was former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, who earned £86m, ahead of NBA icon Steph Curry (£78.6m), baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani (£76.4m) and NBA standout Kevin Durant (£75.1m). Rounding out the top ten is LIV Golf ace Jon Rahm with earnings of £75 million.
Notable names such as Lewis Hamilton, Rory McIlroy, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, as well as Max Verstappen, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Mahomes narrowly missed out on the top ten.
A total of six British athletes featured, with Hamilton leading the group, earning £74 million. McIlroy earned £68 million, while newly crowned Formula One world champion Lando Norris earned £44 million. Footballers Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham also made the list, earning £32 million and £29 million respectively. The British squad is complemented by NBA player Ogugua “OG” Anunoby, who earned £28 million during the year.
Dillian Whyte is eager to fight Joseph Parker again.
In 2018, Whyte and Parker played 12 invigorating rounds, with both hitting the canvas.
Whyte won his dramatic heavyweight fight by unanimous decision at the O2 Arena.
‘The Body Snatcher’ is now planning a rematch with the Recent Zealander, who is looking to clear his name after testing positive for cocaine following his October defeat to Fabio Wardley.
“There are a lot of good fights and Joseph Parker is one of them,” the 38-year-old said Ring Magazine.
“I would love to fight Joseph Parker, I think it’s a really good fight.
“He has to come back, he has to be cleared or whatever. I don’t know the situation.
“So in the meantime I have to stay busy and fight my way back, so let’s see.
“I feel like I still have a little bit to give, so let’s see what we can do to finish the season on a high.
“I’m training now and I want to come back in May or June.
“Now it’s just a matter of training and seeing what comes out on this kind of date.”
The former world title challenger from Brixton has not fought since a crushing first-round knockout defeat to rising contender Moses Itauma last August in Riyad.
Former world champion Parker won six times on spin before being stopped in the 11th round against Wardley, losing the WBO interim title and a shot at unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The 34-year-old says he is going through this process after failing the test and hopes it will be resolved soon.
“Let’s hope so [I’m back] soon,” Parker said Professional boxing fans.
“I’m just going through the process and practicing patience.
“We just have to be patient and learn from what they say happened.
“I know what happened and I handed over everything, so let’s see.”
The post Dillian Whyte Eyes Joseph Parker Rematch appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
Tony Yoka has broken his silence on Lawrence Okolie’s failed test that canceled their scheduled heavyweight fight.
On Saturday in Paris, Yoka was scheduled to face Okolie in a fierce heavyweight fight.
But on Tuesday, the Briton failed a VADA test, reportedly for GHRP 2 and its metabolite M8, a synthetic substance that stimulates the body to release human growth hormone.
Promoter Frank Warren tried to find a slow replacement, but later canceled the entire show.
Yoka (33) admits that he was bitterly disappointed with the situation.
“I was disappointed because I wanted to fight,” said the 33-year-old talkSPORT.
“Of course I was ready.
“It’s not like it happened a few months before, it was three, four days before the fight.
“It was a great opportunity.
“It would have put me in a really good position, so it really worried me.
“What was more disappointing to me was that they just canceled the entire show, but I understand it’s a business.”
The Frenchman says he won’t wait too long and has been told he will either fight on the card Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois May 9 in Manchester or on the bill Dave Allen vs Filip Hrgovic on May 16 in Doncaster.
See this post on Instagram
Okolie, the WBC’s number one contender for Oleksandr Usyk’s title, promised in a statement to clear his name.
“Before anyone starts imagining the worst, after last year’s bicep injury, I suffered an elbow injury on the same shoulder during this camp.
“I underwent treatment and now we are here.
“I hope common sense will prevail.
See this post on Instagram
“I will of course cooperate fully with all relevant authorities and I am confident that any investigation will clear my name.
“I will not be making any further comments at this time.
“Thank you for all your support and see you soon.”
The post “I Was Nervous” – Tony Yoka’s Reaction to Lawrence Okolie’s Failed Test appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
David Benavidez is already looking to the future ahead of next week’s showdown with Zurdo Ramirez.
Benavidez challenges Zurdo for his unified WBO and WBA cruiserweight world titles next Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, live on DAZN pay-per-view.
“The Mexican Monster” is moving up from lightweight heavyweight, where he holds the WBC crown, in a bid to become a three-division world champion.
An undisputed 175-pound title fight with Dmitry Bivol has so far eluded the undefeated 29-year-old, but he insists he will return to the weight class after the Ramirez fight in an attempt to lure Bivol to fight him.
“My plan wasn’t just to abandon the lightweight heavyweight division,” Benavidez said Ariel Helwani show.
“My plan was this [to] come up, win two titles, come back and make this fight with me and Bivol even bigger.
“My dream is to become unified champion.
“It would be wise for me to go back downstairs.”
Bivol, the holder of the remaining IBF, WBA and WBO belts, will defend his IBF title against mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30 in Russia.
The 35-year-old won the undisputed crown, among others revenge victory over Artur Beterbiev in his last appearance last February.
The Russian gave up the WBC belt, which Benavidez currently holds, in pursuit of a third meeting with Beterbiev, which ultimately did not take place.
Benavidez, who stopped Anthony Yarde in Riyad in November, is also hoping to fight former undisputed lightweight heavyweight champion Beterbiev, who hasn’t fought since his only professional loss to Bivol.
“After this fight [against Bivol] when I win the titles,” he added.
“I’m going to fight Beterbiev.
“I’m probably most excited about Beterbiev.
“These are two monsters heading on a collision course.
“Beterbiev was a bogeyman for a long, long, long time.
“Being the monster I am, I have to go in there and get rid of the bogeyman.”
The post David Benavidez Eyeing Two Names After Zurdo Ramirez appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
‘I DID NOT LOSE’ – Arslanbek Makhmudov on TYSON FURY defeat
LIVE Boxing: Lilyella Craw Seaman vs Zoe Hunte-Smith & FULL York Hall Undercard
Victor Ortiz was knocked out by Floyd Mayweather, but names an opponent who was ‘much better’
-
Opinions & Features1 year agoPacquiao vs marquez competition: History of violence
-
MMA1 year agoDmitry Menshikov statement in the February fight
-
Results1 year agoStephen Fulton Jr. becomes world champion in two weight by means of a decision
-
Results1 year agoKeyshawn Davis Ko’s Berinchyk, when Xander Zayas moves to 21-0
-
Video1 year agoFrank Warren on Derek Chisora vs Otto Wallin – ‘I THOUGHT OTTO WOULD GIVE DEREK PROBLEMS!’
-
Analysis1 year agoRobert Garcia discusses the debate on the greatest Mexican warrior in history
-
Video1 year ago‘DEREK CHISORA RETIRE TONIGHT!’ – Anthony Yarde PLEADS for retirement after WALLIN
-
Results1 year agoLive: Catterall vs Barboza results and results card