Canelo Alvarez is the highest-paid boxer of 2026 as of November, with a reported purse of about $45 million for beating Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on October 31. This list ranks boxers by the purses reported for their fights in calendar 2026, from January through early November. We only count purses that were disclosed or credibly reported, and we leave out pay-per-view upside, sponsorships and anything a fighter earned outside the ring.
Boxing pay is murkier than it used to be. Nevada no longer requires purses to be made public, the UK never did, and the richest fights now happen in Saudi Arabia, where promoters publish nothing. So every number below comes from reported deal terms, purse figures that circulated before or after the fight, and our own model, and every one of them should be read as an estimate.
| Rank | Name | Reported 2026 purses (USD) | 2026 fights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Junto Nakatani | about $7 million | Inoue (L) |
| 9 | Christian Mbilli | about $9 million | Canelo (L) |
| 8 | Shakur Stevenson | about $10 million | Lopez (W) |
| 7 | Teofimo Lopez | about $10 million | Stevenson (L) |
| 6 | Naoya Inoue | about $20 million | Nakatani (W) |
| 5 | Tyson Fury | about $25 million | Makhmudov (W) |
| 4 | Conor Benn | about $30 million | Prograis (W), Garcia (L) |
| 3 | Ryan Garcia | about $35 million | Barrios (W), Benn (W) |
| 2 | Oleksandr Usyk | about $40 million | Verhoeven (W) |
| 1 | Canelo Alvarez | about $45 million | Mbilli (W) |
Reported purses for fights between January 1 and early November 2026, before pay-per-view bonuses and sponsorships. Stevenson and Lopez are both reported at about $10 million; Lopez ranks higher because the estimates for his side run up to $15 million.
10. Junto Nakatani: $7 million
Nakatani walked into the Tokyo Dome on May 2 as an unbeaten three-division champion and walked out with his first loss and the biggest check of his life. More than 55,000 fans watched Naoya Inoue win a unanimous decision in the richest event Japanese combat sports had ever staged.
Reports had him guaranteed more than $7 million, with a chance to clear $10 million once pay-per-view incentives were counted. Japanese estimates of his total ranged from 500 million to 1 billion yen.
We take the reported guarantee, the most solid of those numbers, and leave the upside out.
9. Christian Mbilli: $9 million
For most of his career Mbilli was the fighter big names avoided: a French-based Cameroonian puncher with a pressure style and a long list of knockouts. Canelo gave up the WBC belt rather than face him as a mandatory, and the WBC upgraded Mbilli to full champion.
The fight finally happened on October 31 in Riyadh. Mbilli lost a clear decision and his unbeaten record, but the payday was about $9 million, several times anything he had earned before.
Purse estimates for his side of the Riyadh fight were unusually consistent, which is why we are comfortable with this one.
8. Shakur Stevenson: $10 million
Stevenson is the best defensive fighter of his generation, which has not always made him the easiest sell. January 31 at Madison Square Garden changed that. He beat Teofimo Lopez by unanimous decision in one of the most anticipated fights of the winter.
Pre-fight reports put his earnings at $8 million to $10 million, counting guaranteed money, performance incentives and bonuses. A purse tracker lists him at the top of that range.
His number sits at the high end of the reported band, which assumes the incentives paid out after a win.
7. Teofimo Lopez: $10 million
Lopez lost the fight and may have won the negotiation. Estimates of the total purse for the Garden fight ran from $18 million to $25 million, and his share was reported at $10 million to $15 million, a reflection of his status as the bigger draw.
He is one of boxing’s loudest personalities and has spent his career moving between weights and promoters. Few fighters have been better at turning attention into a bigger cut at the negotiating table.
We use the bottom of his reported range, about $10 million, because the upper estimates came from a single unverified total.
6. Naoya Inoue: $20 million
Inoue is the most bankable fighter Japan has ever produced, and May 2 proved it. His win over Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome drew a gate of more than $30 million, and total domestic revenue from tickets, pay-per-view and cinema screenings was put at $64 million to $65 million.
Reports say he was guaranteed at least $14 million and almost certainly made more than $20 million once his share of the pay-per-view was counted. A purse tracker lists the fight at $20 million.
The heading reflects that $20 million estimate; his guaranteed floor alone would still rank him sixth.
5. Tyson Fury: $25 million
Fury retired, again, after losing twice to Usyk, and lasted 16 months before he came back. On April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium he beat Arslanbek Makhmudov by a wide unanimous decision in a fight streamed worldwide, with more than five million people watching, according to the streaming service.
Reports after the fight said he made about £18.8 million, roughly $25 million, and a purse tracker carries the same figure. He then called out Anthony Joshua, a fight that has been talked about for most of a decade.
That converted £18.8 million is the whole number here; no second 2026 purse for Fury has been confirmed.
4. Conor Benn: $30 million
Benn had the kind of year that only happens in the Saudi era. In April he beat Regis Prograis by unanimous decision on the Fury undercard, reportedly for about $15 million. In September he headlined in Las Vegas against Ryan Garcia for the WBC welterweight title.
That second fight went badly: Garcia stopped him in the second round. The bank balance did not care. Reports put each man’s purse at about $15 million, and the head of the promoting company said Benn’s money was covered by the Saudi side of the deal.
Two reported $15 million paydays add up to his $30 million.
3. Ryan Garcia: $35 million
Garcia has more social media followers than most boxing promotions, and in 2026 he finally had the titles to go with them. On February 21 he beat Mario Barrios by unanimous decision to win the WBC welterweight belt, then defended it by knocking out Conor Benn in the second round at T-Mobile Arena on September 12.
The Barrios fight was reported at about $20 million for Garcia, though one estimate put his guarantee at $10 million. The Benn fight added about $15 million. Afterward he called out Teofimo Lopez, which would be another big payday.
We built his total from two reported purses, using the more widely cited $20 million for February.
2. Oleksandr Usyk: $40 million
Usyk has beaten Anthony Joshua twice, Tyson Fury twice and Daniel Dubois twice. In 2026 he took a stranger assignment: Rico Verhoeven, the Dutch kickboxing great, in a heavyweight title fight in Giza, Egypt, on May 23. Verhoeven pressed him for most of the night and led on two of the three scorecards before Usyk dropped him and the referee stopped it late in the 11th.
His purse was reported at about $40 million, with roughly $7 million more possible from pay-per-view bonuses. One Dutch report claimed his total could reach $100 million, but nothing backed it up. This was not even his biggest payday: his two rematches in 2024 and 2025 were each reported at more than $100 million.
We use the reported $40 million guarantee and leave the pay-per-view bonus aside, as we do for everyone.
1. Canelo Alvarez: $45 million
Canelo lost to Terence Crawford in September 2025 and spent most of 2026 out of the ring. When he came back, he made more in one night than anyone else in the sport made all year. On October 31 in Riyadh he beat Christian Mbilli by unanimous decision, with cards of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112, and took back the WBC super middleweight title he had given up.
Purse reports landed between $45 million and $47 million for his base fee, before his share of pay-per-view and sponsorships. Mexican outlets floated figures as high as $100 million, but neither Canelo’s team nor the promoter confirmed any number. Over the previous year he was already one of the two highest-paid athletes in the world, thanks to his long-term deal with Saudi organizers.
Our figure is the low end of the two most-cited reports for the Mbilli fight, his only bout of 2026.
Just outside the top 10
- Rico Verhoeven: reported at $10 million guaranteed for the Usyk fight, with up to $7 million more from pay-per-view. We leave him out because he is a kickboxer making a one-off crossover.
- Deontay Wilder: reported at about $6 million for his split-decision win over Derek Chisora in April.
- Anthony Joshua: beat Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia in July on a reported $4 million. His big money came in December 2025, against Jake Paul, which is outside our window, and a Fury fight would put him near the top next year.
- Jake Paul: his headline paydays came in 2024 and 2025. We found no reported purse for a fight of his in 2026, despite a very public $200 million offer to Canelo.
What the highest-paid boxers have in common
- Saudi money sets the market. Canelo fought in Riyadh, Joshua fought in Saudi Arabia, and Benn’s purse was reportedly paid by the Saudi side of his deal. Promoters elsewhere now have to match what the kingdom pays.
- Losing pays almost as well as winning. Benn, Lopez, Mbilli and Nakatani all lost and all made the list. The money is set before the first bell.
- Two fights beat one. Garcia and Benn are the only fighters with two big 2026 paydays, and both rank higher than Fury and Inoue despite smaller single purses.
- Welterweight is the hot division. Garcia and Benn, two of the top four, fought at 147 pounds, a sign that personality and social reach now count as much as weight class.
FAQ
Who is the highest-paid boxer in 2026?
Canelo Alvarez, with a reported purse of about $45 million for beating Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on October 31, 2026.
How much did Oleksandr Usyk make in 2026?
About $40 million for his May fight with Rico Verhoeven, with roughly $7 million more possible from pay-per-view bonuses.
Are boxing purses made public?
Rarely now. Nevada no longer requires purse disclosure, and fights in the UK and Saudi Arabia do not publish them, so most figures are reported estimates.
What is the biggest payday in boxing history?
Floyd Mayweather’s fights with Manny Pacquiao in 2015 and Conor McGregor in 2017 are widely reported as the largest, each worth well over $200 million to Mayweather once pay-per-view is included.
How much did Ryan Garcia make in 2026?
About $35 million by our estimate: roughly $20 million for beating Mario Barrios and about $15 million for stopping Conor Benn.
How much does the 10th highest-paid boxer make?
About $7 million in 2026, the reported guarantee for Junto Nakatani’s fight with Naoya Inoue.
How we ranked pay
Our rankings are based on public contract reporting, team and school disclosures, and salary databases, all compiled in an internal pay model. Unless we say otherwise, we rank by the average annual value of each current contract and leave endorsements out of the number. Figures are approximate and can change quickly as new deals are signed.
For this list we say otherwise: boxers are paid per fight, so we rank by reported purses for fights held in calendar 2026 through early November.
Keep reading
- McGregor vs Mayweather: who is the best and the richest
- How rich people keep getting paid long after their peak years
- 15 ways to increase your income
Last updated: November 2026.
