Floyd Mayweather jr. and Manny Pacquiao top richest athlete list – Boxing News
Surprisingly, the 2012 list of world's 100 highest-paid athletes by Forbes has Floyd Mayweather jr. and Manny Pacquiao beating Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods has been ranked at number 1 while Pacquiao holds the second position. Tiger Woods, who previously held
the first position, has now slipped to the third.
Mayweather collected $85 million for his last two fights, against Miguel Cotto and Victor Ortiz. Mayweather fought against Ortiz last year in September and he fought against Cotto last month.
Senior editor for Forbes, Kurt Badenhausen commented, “There's a reason they call boxer Floyd Mayweather 'Money'. He fought twice during the past 12 months, spent less than one hour in the ring to dispatch his two foes - his combined payday for the bouts:
$85m. Mayweather maximises his earnings by also acting as his own fight promoter through his company Mayweather Promotions. 'He collects all of the revenue from tickets, pay-per-view and sponsorships and covers the costs, including the purse for his opponent.”
In the list, David Beckham is still the highest paid footballer with an income of £29.3m, along with £23.5m via endorsements. Cristiano Ronaldo follows Beckham on the ninth position, along with Lionel Messi at the eleventh position. The first female athlete
to show up in the list is Maria Sharapova. The first cricketer in the list is MS Dhoni at the 31st position.
Mayweather and Pacquiao, both are today’s most popular boxers. Mayweather currently stands as an unbeaten fighter, whereas Pacquiao stands with four losses in his portfolio. Even though Pacquiao’s last fight against Bradley was a loss, he still is considered
the best pound for pound boxer in the world. Pacquiao’s loss to Bradley was via controversial split decision, due to which many analysts think that the Pac-man has gained momentum in his fame rather than losing it. Even Ring Magazine denied pulling down Pacquiao
off the list of best welterweight fighters, where stands at the top along with Mayweather.
On the other hand, Mayweather is the highest paid boxer of all time, not just 2012. He has broken records held by previous boxers when it comes to being paid the highest.
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