Considered the third highest-paid sport in the world according to GambleOntario.ca, boxing gave birth to some of the richest sportspersons ever, while their earnings are as stunning as their knockouts. Starting off with the king on this list, here are the seven highest-paid boxers who ever lived.

Floyd Mayweather

As for the best-paid sportsmen, few could compete with Floyd “Money” Mayweather. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on February 24, 1977, Mayweather is boxing’s undisputed king of pay-per-view and guaranteed payouts.

The Mayweather career is marked by perfection: 50 wins, 0 losses and incomparable skill inside the ring. Defensive mastery and precision made Mayweather be referred to as “TBE”, the best ever. Not only did skills make a fortune, but Mayweather also made sure business acumen created his fortune. He negotiated his own contracts, one reason being the creation of Mayweather Promotions to make sure he took home the lion’s share of revenue after every fight.

The 2015 bout against Manny Pacquiao was billed as the “Fight of the Century,” a title fight that raked in more than $600 million in revenue. Mayweather’s personal take from the fight? A cool $250 million. Still not satisfied, Mayweather took on MMA superstar Conor McGregor in 2017, a crossover fight that earned him a really impressive $300 million.

Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao, affectionately known to many as “Pac Man,” is not only one of the highest-paid boxers but also a great cultural icon in the Philippines. He was born on December 17, 1978, in Kibawe. Pacquiao overcame miserable poverty and adversity to reach global superstardom.

His career has spanned an incredible 26 years, with 62 wins, 8 losses and 2 draws. Indeed, Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to have won world titles in eight different weight divisions.

Yet Pacquiao’s 2008 fight against Oscar De La Hoya marked his arrival to the world stage: It was believed that De La Hoya would enter as an overwhelming heavy favorite, yet Pacquiao outfought all expectations, using speed and dominating technique as he secured the win in his fight.

That 2015 fight with Mayweather is one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing. He made $120 million from that fight in which he lost. Pacquiao amassed $600 million in his career and remains a boxing legend.

Canelo Álvarez

Canelo Álvarez (born Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán), born on July 18th, 1990 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, remains probably one of the youngest boxers throughout this list, although certainly, his achievements are comparable to or even surpass those of multiple legends. With his justly famous fierce red color of hair and the telling nickname “Canelo” (that is Spanish for “cinnamon”), Álvarez is as dangerous in a ring as he is commercially viable outside the ring itself.

At age 15, Álvarez turned pro and embarked on a meteoric rise. His first real test came against Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and though he would go on to lose to the undefeated champion, this bout would prove to be the turning point in Álvarez’s career and he has since become the first undisputed super middleweight champion of the world and a box office juggernaut. His trio of fights against Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin are really the stuff of legend, with his earnings from the third fight alone said to top $100 million.

With a career total earning of $500 million, Álvarez is still active in the sport and, at just 33 years of age, his story is far from over.

Oscar De La Hoya

Known as “The Golden Boy of Boxing,” Oscar De La Hoya was a boxer whose controversy stirred interest both in and outside of the ring. Born in California on February 4th, 1973, it is no surprise that such a talented young athlete resulted from a family full of boxers. At the tender age of six, he began training to be a boxer and his amateur career ensued with a gold medal that he won in the year 1992 during his participation in the Olympics, which was the first really big tip-off to his forthcoming brilliance in boxing.

Mike Tyson

Few names are synonymous with the sport of boxing as that of Mike Tyson. Born on June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York, Tyson overcame a tough early childhood to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history, at 20 years old.

With his really fearsome power and intimidating presence in the ring, Tyson compiled a record of 50-6 with one no-contest. Despite his setbacks, Tyson would prove a big draw-a pay-per-view cash bonanza. Tyson fights, for instance, with Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, generated huge pay-per-view revenues, with Tyson receiving as high as $30 million per bout at the peak of this career.

While Tyson’s earnings totaled $400 million, financial mismanagement left him very nearly bankrupt but fortunately, today, Tyson has reinvented himself as a media personality and entrepreneur, ensuring his legacy remains intact.

Evander Holyfield

Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, 57, is one of the most decorated boxers in history and boasts an illustrious ring career that spanned the breadth of 27 continuous years. Born in the great southern state of Alabama, October 19, 1962, Holyfield went from age seven to very nearly immediate superstardom at his chosen sport of the Sweet Science.

Holyfield became the only boxer ever to have won undisputed championships in two weight classes: cruiserweight and heavyweight. His career was filled with epic battles, but two of them are remembered more than others, against Mike Tyson, with one of these bouts acquiring notoriety due to the fact that Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear.