Highest earning boxing matches ever from Floyd Mayweather’s £678m fight with Pacquiao to Mike Tyson’s £146m – The Irish Sun

FLOYD MAYWEATHER has lived well and truly deserves his ‘Money’ moniker by dominating the list of the highest earning boxing matches of all time.

The pay-per-view king has divided opinions throughout his 50-0 career but consistently delivers results in the ring – both in terms of performance and pay checks.

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Heavyweight legend Mike Tyson was also well compensated through his campaign of ups and downs – earning around £400m in total.

And here, SunSport beat the most lucrative matches of all time.

1. Mayweather vs Pacquiao, May 2015

Dubbed the ‘Battle of the Century’, the 5 year wait by fans for the two weight kings to finally come to an end in 2015.

Unfortunately, despite the long build, the game delivered no excitement – but did so in terms of revenue.

Mayweather’s tactical skills when overcoming Pacquiao sold a record 4.6m PPV and scored the highest in history.

Their purses were also larger than ever, as the war became the richest of all time.

Mayweather vs Pacquiao Incident

PPV – £333 million

Gate – £58.7 million

Mayweather’s wallet: £223.5 million

Pacquiao’s wallet: 122 million pounds

Total: 678 million pounds

2. Mayweather vs McGregor, August 2017

After it was announced that UFC star McGregor was going to go head-to-head with Mayweather, it was immediately called the ‘Money War’.

And it has lived up to its name as the numbers show.

But it didn’t manage to surpass PPV and gate records The previous one was set up two years ago by Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Mayweather, who won in ten rounds, matched his earnings against PacMan, while McGregor’s net worth skyrocketed after his commendable boxing debut.

Mayweather vs McGregor Incident

PPV – £325 million

Gate – 44 million pounds

Mayweather’s wallet: £223.5 million

McGregor’s wallet: £70m

Total: 662.5 million pounds

3. Mayweather vs Canelo, September 2013

When Canelo challenged No1, boxing fans tuned in to see if the puzzle of beating Mayweather could ultimately be solved.

However, once again Money took the lead with a point decision and amused the bank as the fight broke the then PPV record with sales of 2.2 million and revenue of £120 million.

Although more than 16,000 packed into the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the front gate only brought in £20 million.

It still ranks as the third richest bout in boxing history, with Canelo continues to become a star of his own since his humiliation.

Analysis Mayweather vs Canelo

PPV – 120 million pounds

Gate – 20 million pounds

Mayweather’s wallet: £65m

Canelo’s wallet: £9.7 million

Total: £214.7 million

4. Mayweather vs De La Hoya, May 2007

When Mayweather stepped up to light middleweight to beat De La Hoya – that was the last time he did so as a B boxer.

The victory cemented the rude American driver – then known as ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ – as the sport’s No.

It initially broke box office records, and Mayweather adopted the moniker Money later.

Although the lucrative rematch didn’t materialize, it was one of Mayweather’s huge paydays.

De La Hoya vs Mayweather Incident

PPV – £110 million

Gate – 15 million pounds

De la Hoya’s wallet: £42 million

Mayweather’s wallet: £20 million

Total: 187 million pounds

5. Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II, 1997

After Holyfield unboxed and stopped Tyson for the heavyweight belt in 1996, it set up a lucrative rematch the following year.

But it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, like Tyson bit Holyfield twice before being eliminated in the third round.

Later known as ‘Bite Fight’, it raked in 1,990,000 PPV purchases – still the highest number bought for a heavyweight fight.

Their wallet made the highest aggregate for any war until it broke ten years later.

Holyfield vs Tyson Incident 2

PPV – £81.4 million

Gate – 11.6 million pounds

Holyfield Wallet: £28.4 million

Tyson wallet: 24.3 million pounds

Total: 145.7 million pounds

6. Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson, 2002

Lewis and Tyson finally fixed the match in 2002 – but it was too late.

Tyson was a lackluster heavyweight while Lewis became the undisputed champion, going on to win in the eighth round.

The high-priced tickets finally sold with 15,000 attendees, fighting and breaking box office records.

Despite selling less than Tyson’s rematch with Holyfield, it still raked in £90m in revenue from PPV.

Lewis vs Tyson Incident

PPV – £90 million

Gate – 14.2 million pounds

Lewis: 14.2 million pounds

Tyson: 14.2 million pounds

Total: 132.6 million pounds