Five Highest-Paid Boxers In 2025

Last year gave boxing fans a long-awaited superfight and a blockbuster undisputed heavyweight title showdown. On the flip side, it also saw two more Jake Paul ‘specials’.

While on opposite ends of the sweet science spectrum, these bouts had one thing in common – they carried mind-blowing purses. These five fighters, more so than any others, raked in the money last year:

5: Daniel Dubois

A stunning upset win over fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua in September 2024 earned Dubois, the IBF titleholder, a shot at immortality and revenge against unified WBC, WBO and WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium in July.

After a controversial loss to the legendary Ukrainian in their first fight in 2023, “Dynamite” was determined to prove he was the better man, but was blown out of the water by Usyk and stopped in the fifth round.

While his dream of becoming undisputed champion was dashed, Dubois took home a reported $71 million for his efforts.

4: Anthony Joshua

A chance opportunity presented itself to Joshua after Paul’s originally scheduled exhibition bout against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis was cancelled in the wake of a lawsuit filed against Davis by his ex-girlfriend that accused him of battery, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Joshua, looking to shake off the rust and bounce back from his above-mentioned defeat to Dubois, gladly answered Paul’s callout for a sanctioned heavyweight fight in Miami in December and predictably knocked out the YouTuber. The former two-time unified champion risked his legacy, but it proved to be the easiest $92 million he’s ever made.

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3: Jake Paul

$92 million is the price Paul put on his health for the above-mentioned bout against Joshua at the Kaseya Center.

December 20th (South African time) was indeed judgment day for boxing’s biggest snake oil salesman, who learned the hard way that he had no business being in the ring with a fighter of Joshua’s calibre.

“The Problem Child” went for nearly as many takedowns as the number of punches he ultimately landed in the bizarre bout, and he was left with his jaw broken in two places when he failed to answer the count in the sixth round.

The YouTuber had to eat his Christmas dinner through a straw, but laughed all the way to the bank, having made a reported total of $102 million for the year, including the $10 million he’s believed to have earned in his win over a 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June.

2: Oleksandr Usyk

Line them up and he’ll knock them down. Usyk has beaten the who’s who at heavyweight over the last few years to remain undefeated and enhance his legacy as one of the greatest of all time.

Having already beaten Joshua and Tyson Fury twice, “The Cat” clinched his second victory over Dubois in their aforementioned heavyweight title unification bout at Wembley Stadium.

Usyk left no doubt that he was the superior boxer as he pieced up the local favourite and put him out of his misery in the fifth round to become undisputed for the third time, having first earned the distinction at cruiserweight in 2018 and repeated the feat at heavyweight when he handed Tyson Fury his first loss in 2024.

With the undisputed title came a cool $132 million, making the victory that much sweeter for the 38-year-old.

1: Canelo Alvarez

The face of boxing for over a decade, Canelo was the highest-paid active boxer in 2025, yet it came at the ultimate cost.

Having carefully selected his opponents for years, much to fans’ frustration, the Mexican megastar laid it all on the line when he defended his undisputed super middleweight title against Terence Crawford in a dream match of all-time greats at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in September.

For Crawford, who made approximately $50 million, it was a night that cemented his legacy as one of the best ever to put on a pair of gloves as the undefeated “Bud” delivered a masterclass to beat Canelo by decision and become the first male boxer to hold undisputed gold in three different weight classes.

Canelo was left having to recalibrate and count his money, and there was a boatload of it. He’s said to have earned $150 million for the bout, which, along with the estimated $80 million he made in his successful title defence against William Scull earlier in the year, brought his total fight earnings for 2025 to $230 million.