Canelo Alvarez has been named as the fifth richest athlete behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Alvarez is considered arguably the face of fighting given his star power and pay-per-view draw, alongside his status as the undisputed super-middleweight champion. The Mexican star has been earning huge paydays in recent years as his profile has grown from fighting the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin and Billy Joe Saunders.
The elite fighter has been considered a pound-for-pound great and has had a busy couple of years having fought five times since the beginning of 2021. And his lucrative fight nights have seen him ranked as the only fighter on Forbes' sporting rich-list.
Alvarez is ranked fifth behind three footballers - Cristiano Ronaldo in top spot, world cup winner Lionel Messi and young prodigy Kylian Mbappe. LeBron James meanwhile is in fourth. The likes of Conor McGregor and Tyson Fury, who have featured in the past, have missed out with Alvarez the only fighter from combat sports on the list.
The 32-year-old has reportedly earned $110million (£88m) for the financial year, with his lucrative defeat to Dmitry Bivol and trilogy bout with Golovkin earning him a large portion of his earnings. He has also landed a significant $10m (£8m) for his endorsements outside of the ring, despite having a smaller commercial portfolio than other fighters.
Alvarez is continuing to work with streaming service DAZN who have helped provide him with lucrative purses since the turn of the decade, and it is reported he could earn a purse of up to $36m (£29m) from his fight with John Ryder this weekend.. It could be another big year for Alvarez who has faced a delay due to injury, but could still fight again before the end of 2023.
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It could be a rematch with Bivol that comes next if he is to oust the challenge of Ryder, but many fans are keen to see a clash with counterpart David Benavidez. And according to promoter Eddie Hearn, the fight will get over the line but needs terms arranging as Alvarez insists the fight is at 175lb.
“Canelo is saying, ‘I don’t want to boil you down to 168, beat you at 168,‘ and everyone says, ‘Oh, well, you didn’t fight him at 175.’ I get it,” Hearn told Boxing Social. “I also get Bivol saying, ‘I could become undisputed at 168,’ but Canelo has made it pretty clear. ‘I want the same terms that I got beat at,’ so everyone can say, ‘Wow, he’s avenged the defeat,’ and I agree with that.
t’s a massive disadvantage for Canelo to fight him at 175, but he wants the same terms. So we’ll have to see what happens. They’ve [Team Canelo] have made it clear to me that’s the fight [against Bivol] that they want me to make."
