Floyd Mayweather bet on himself before becoming boxing’s wealthiest star.
In 2006, ‘Pretty Boy’ was making a name in the sport with the help of Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum, who famously promoted Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather was earning around $3 million per fight, thanks to his perfect 36-0 record and status as the IBF welterweight champion, when he decided it was time for a change.
According to his long-time confidante, Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather viewed himself as a headliner capable of making more than $100million in one night.
“Floyd wanted to take his career in a new direction,” Ellerbe told Forbes in 2015. “Floyd walked into Top Rank’s office, handed them a cheque and the rest is history.”
Mayweather had an unusual opt-out clause in his deal with Top Rank that let him get out of the promotional contract by paying $750,000.
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It may not seem like a lot to the boxing legend now, but back then it was a huge gamble and the start of a new phase of his career, which came with a new nickname.
‘Money’ lived up to his moniker straight away as he sold 325,000 pay-per-views and banked a career-high $8million payday for his fight with Carlos Baldomir in November 2006.
The cash kept flowing for the rest of his career and he made £25million for his very next fight – a split decision win over Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007.
Together they did 2.48million PPV buys and $137 million in PPV revenue.
Mayweather beat 13 consecutive fighters who were reigning or former world champions, with many of them featuring on the Ring Magazine pound-for-pound list.
Baldomir had the WBC welterweight title and De La Hoya owned the WBC light-middleweight belt before running into Mayweather.
Former WBA and IBF light-welterweight king Ricky Hatton became his next victim when he moved up in weight to challenge for his WBC welterweight title.
Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley didn’t have any belts when they fought Mayweather, but they had both been world champions in multiple weight classes.
Mayweather won back his WBC belt from Victor Ortiz before dethroning WBA light middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in his very next fight.
Two-weight world champion Robert Guerrero came next before he famously outpointed Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who held the WBC light-middleweight belt at the time and has since gone on to become undisputed at super-middleweight.
Mayweather beat WBA welterweight titleholder Marcos Maidana in back-to-back fights before making a gargantuan amount of money fight eight-weight champion Manny Pacquaio.
Another win over former WBC and IBF welterweight titleholder Andre Berto followed before Mayweather signed off with a 50-0 record after earning his best payday ever against UFC superstar Conor McGregor.
Floyd said in 2020: “Tell me another fighter that, in just two fights, made $650million. For Pacquiao I made $300million, for McGregor I made $350 million.”
Mayweather’s fights with Paciquo and McGregor are the two biggest-selling boxing events of all time with combined sales of 8.9 million.
Ellerbe thinks Mayweather’s $750,000 contract buyout is ‘the best investment in the history of sports’ and it’s hard to disagree when you how much money he made after leaving Top Rank.
Seven years on from his retirement, Mayweather is still boxing and making millions for exhibition bouts with influencers like YouTuber Logan Paul and Geordie Shore star Aaron Chalmers.
It’s believed he made around $65million for fighting Paul in 2021.
Mayweather hasn’t fought since John Gotti III got disqualified for talking too much trash during their fight last June, but his post-retirement moneymaking scheme is set to continue at some point in 2024.
An announcement about his eighth exhibition bout is expected on May 15.
News Summary:
- Floyd Mayweather paid less than $1million to buy out contract before beating 13 champions and becoming highest paid boxer ever
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