Top 10 Richest Boxers in History - Part 1

Top 10 Richest Boxers in History - Part 1

Here are the competitors who made a fortune fighting in the ring

Boxing is a sport that can make a lot of money. Especially in the last two decades. However, for this you need to be among the best competitors in your division and have extremely high-quality promoters. History knows great boxers who even became absolute champions in their category, but they are far from being among the richest. The opposite is more difficult to find, but there are names that you would not have guessed how much money they have earned from matches in the professional ring. It is precisely for this reason that we will reveal who the ten richest boxers of all time are in two separate parts.

#10 – Wladimir Klitschko – £58 million

It's hardly a surprise that the Ukrainian heavyweight boxer makes this list. Perhaps the position alone may be shocking, as Klitschko has dominated his division for about 10 years. He has 69 fights in the professional ring, of which he won 64 and only 11 of his successes did not come by way of knockout. In six years, he held a total of 5 championship belts, but he was far from making much money from his victories. The matches in which he was the most expensive were his losses to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, which indicated that it was time to end his career. This is happening in 2017, so it may drop out of this ranking soon.

#9 – Anthony Joshua – £60 million

It's no secret that after the success over Klitschko, everyone expected Anthony Joshua to easily occupy the heavyweight throne in professional boxing. Athletic, charismatic and incredibly bombastic, the Brit now has 26 fights, of which he has won 22 by knockout and only 2 on points, but both of his losses have been unexpected and shocking. Although the second one, which came from Alexander Usyk, was also categorical. Still, in just over a third of Klitschko's fights, he has already earned more money than the Ukrainian, never mind losing his title to his compatriot. Seven of his fights drew over 1 million pay-per-view viewers, and his victory over Joseph Parker was watched by over 2 million pay-per-view subscribers. No wonder we'll soon see him further up the rankings, and by the end of his career, he may even reach the top 5.

#8 – Sugar Ray Leonard – £88 million

It's time for a legend from the more distant past. Sugar Ray Leonard, who competed between 1977 and 1997. He holds world titles in five different categories from welterweight to light heavyweight, and all 88 million earned in just 40 matches in the professional ring. It is impressive that during these years Leonard managed to earn so much money, but then the honors meant a lot. Still, he is the absolute welterweight champion. Then comes the successes in the more difficult matches in which Leonard is quite well paid. And he enters the world of professionals as an Olympic champion from the Games in Montreal, which also raises his profile.

#7 – Tyson Fury – £100 million

Looking at Tyson Fury, it's hard to tell he's a professional athlete. But those thoughts exist only in the heads of people who haven't watched it. Gypsy King has 32 fights in the heavyweight division and no losses. For 31 successes, he has managed to knock out his opponents 22 times and is again waiting for a chance to become a world champion. His matches are always epic, always generate a lot of interest, and Fury puts on a show too, we can't deny that. For five games, he earns 1/4 of the amount, namely 80 million, which is provided to him by ESPN. And let's not forget that he has a match with Anthony Joshua coming up, from which he will make more money, and he can be surrounded by more glory.

#6 – Lennox Lewis – £103 million

Lennox Claudius Lewis aka "The Lion" is another boxer from Great Britain who knows what it's like to become a millionaire by stepping into the professional ring. He is also the richest British boxer and has amassed a fortune from victories against legends such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Vitali Klitschko. Right after his victory over Klitschko, Lewis ended his career with a three-title unification. These are the heavyweight belts of the World Boxing Council, the International Boxing Organization and Ring magazine. £103m isn't a bad sum for 44 games, of which you've won 41. Don't worry, at 56, Lewis is living well.

You can find out who the five richest people are in the second part.

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