Canelo Alvarez No. 8 on Forbes' list of highest-earning athletes
Canelo Alvarez remains the biggest earner in boxing.
The undisputed super middleweight champion was No. 8 on Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes over the past 12 months, the magazine revealed Wednesday.
He earned $90 million, $85 in purses and $5 million in endorsements and other avenues of revenue connected to boxing.
Two other boxers were in the Top 50, Tyson Fury at No. 18 and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul at No. 46.
Fury, the heavyweight champion, earned $62 million, $60 million in the ring and $2 million outside it. Paul made $38 million, $30 million in purses and an additional $8 million.
Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi tops the list at $130 million, $75 million on the field and $55 million off it.
The time period used for the list was from May 1, 2021 to May 1, 2022, meaning Alvarez’s loss to Dmitry Bivol on pay-per-view will be part of next year’s list,
Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KOs) fought only twice between May and May, stopping Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds on May 8 of last year and knocking out Caleb Plant in the 11th round on Nov. 6.
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) also fought twice during the period, stopping Deontay Wilder in the 11th round of their third fight on Oct. 9 and putting Dillian Whyte in six rounds on April 23.
Paul (5-0, 4 KOs) turned his following on YouTube and social media into a successful boxing career even though he has crude skills. He has fought only a fellow YouTuber, a retired NBA player and MMA fighters in his short career.
He also had two fights in the designated period, a split decision over Tyrone Woodley on Aug. 29 and a six-round stoppage over Woodley in the rematch on Dec. 18.