3 Boxers Make It Into 2025 Highest Paid Athletes List In The World

The boxing is dead brigade are long dead years ago but this is the final nail in their coffin — boxing is booming.

The sport of professional boxing is booming as an industry but has seen nothing yet compared to what is to come this year.

Large companies and large countries’ governments continue to bring professional and world championship boxing to their countries all over the world.

Now, Canelo Alvarez, Naoya Inoue and Terence Crawford all made it into the top 100 highest paid world athletes list for 2025.

Per Sportico, Alvarez made $137 million for two fights.

Crawford $66 million just for one fight.

Inoue $62 million for four fights.

3 Boxers Make It Into 2025 Highest Paid Athletes List

The above doesn’t take into account sponsorships and other revenues from what we can see however.

Purely from boxing only.

Let that sink in.

On the above numbers, let’s drill down and dig a little deeper there. Here are some of the facts:

#2 Canelo Alvarez: $137M (2 Fights)

• His massive earnings came largely from a lucrative multi-fight deal signed with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh (reportedly worth around $325–400M overall for four fights).
• He fought twice: a win over William Scull in May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a high-profile loss to Terence Crawford in September in Las Vegas.
• The Crawford fight alone generated a huge payday (estimates of $100M+ for Canelo including PPV shares and bonuses).
• Earnings breakdown included about $125M from fight purses/salaries and $12M from endorsements/brand deals.
• This placed him second overall globally (behind only Cristiano Ronaldo at $260M), marking the second straight year he led all combat sports athletes.
• The total pushed his career earnings (fights + endorsements) toward or past $800M.

#21 Terence Crawford: $66M (1 Fight)

• His earnings were driven primarily by one blockbuster fight: a unanimous decision win over Canelo Alvarez in September 2025 in Las Vegas.
• The upset victory over Canelo (moving up in weight) delivered a massive purse, likely including significant PPV shares and bonuses.
• He benefited from a rapidly expanding sponsorship portfolio and high-profile status as a pound-for-pound elite fighter.
• This marked a career-high payday year, boosting his profile internationally despite fewer fights.
• Combined with prior big wins (like vs. Errol Spence Jr.), it contributed to his career fight earnings exceeding $60M overall.

#25 Naoya Inoue: $62M (4 Fights)

• He had the most active year among the three, competing in four fights, which helped accumulate his total through consistent high-level bouts.
• Earnings surged due to a new deal signed with Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh, expanding his global reach beyond Japan.
• His growing international profile (as “The Monster”) drove bigger purses, PPV revenue, and sponsorship opportunities.
• This placed him in the top 25 globally, highlighting boxing’s rising appeal in untapped markets like Asia and the Middle East.
• The $62M reflected a mix of fight purses from his four outings plus off-ring income, far exceeding his prior years’ totals.

The above makes for impressive reading to say the least.

Alvarez and Crawford boxed one another to make up some of the above in their super fight last September in Vegas.

Canelo Alvarez will return to the ring again this September it was confirmed today.