Floyd Mayweather has congratulated the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who joined him on Forbes’ list of the highest earning sports stars of the decade.
Despite fighting on only 10 occasions since 2010, the 42-year-old boxing icon raked in an astonishing £706million ($915m). Mayweather netted almost a third of that sum from his bout against UFC kingpin Conor McGregor back in August 2015, which saw him extend his unbeaten professional record to 50 fights.
The American has been out of competitive action since then, although he banked $9 million (£7m) from an exhibition contest against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa last December.
Mayweather recently teased the possibility of making a comeback in 2020 amid claims he is set to work alongside UFC president Dana White and made clear he has no intention of returning to boxing.
‘I’ve got calls to get back into the ring, but my health is my wealth,’ he told Reuters. ‘Boxing is a very, very brutal sport. In the last few years a lot of fighters have died inside that squared circle.
‘You have got to know when to hang it up. I had a great career. ‘I’ll still travel and do exhibitions. I make great money doing exhibitions; between $10 and $30 million. I think I make more doing that than most fighters make fighting.’
Mayweather’s long-time foe Manny Pacquiao is the only other boxer in the top 10 with the 41-year-old having amassed £335m, a significant portion of which was earned when the two rivals eventually faced each other back in 2015.
Highest-paid sports stars of the decade | Forbes
1. Floyd Mayweather — $915m
2. Cristiano Ronaldo — $800m
3. Lionel Messi — $750m
4. LeBron James — $680m
5. Roger Federer — $640m
6. Tiger Woods — $615m
7. Phil Mickelson — $480m
8. Manny Pacquiao — $435m
9. Kevin Durant — $425m
10. Lewis Hamilton — $400m
Four other Americans, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson feature on the list, while six-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is the only Brit in the top 10.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are football’s only representatives but both fall some way short of Mayweather’s fortune.
Taking to Twitter, Mayweather wrote: ‘Congratulations to every athlete on this list !’
Photo Credit: Getty
