Boxing · PURSES · 2018
Boxing purses in 2018
28 boxers were paid $251,008,334 across 57 bouts in 2018. The biggest single purse was $40,000,000, to Canelo Alvarez against Gennadiy Golovkin.
TOTAL PURSES$251,008,334$251.0m
BOUTS57
BOXERS28
BIGGEST PURSE$40,000,000$40.0m Canelo Alvarez
MEAN PER BOUT$4,403,655$4.4m
TOP EARNER$73,000,000$73.0m Canelo Alvarez
Who was paid most in 2018
Every purse we hold from the year, folded into the boxer who took it.
Every purse we hold from 2018
Tap a column heading to re-rank| # | BOXER | PURSE | OPPONENT | RESULT | DATE | DIVISION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Canelo Alvarez | $40,000,000$40.0m | Gennadiy Golovkin | WinMD | 15 September 2018 | Middleweight |
| 02 | Canelo Alvarez | $33,000,000$33.0m | Rocky Fielding | WinTKO 3 | 15 December 2018 | Middleweight |
| 03 | Anthony Joshua | $27,000,000$27.0m | Alexander Povetkin | WinTKO 7 | 22 September 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 04 | Anthony Joshua | $27,000,000$27.0m | Joseph Parker | WinUD | 31 March 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 05 | Joseph Parker | $17,300,000$17.3m | Anthony Joshua | LossUD | 31 March 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 06 | Manny Pacquiao | $16,000,000$16.0m | Lucas Matthysse | WinTKO 7 | 15 July 2018 | Welterweight |
| 07 | Deontay Wilder | $14,000,000$14.0m | Tyson Fury | DrawSD | 1 December 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 08 | Tyson Fury | $13,000,000$13.0m | Deontay Wilder | DrawSD | 1 December 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 09 | Tony Bellew | $7,960,000$8.0m | Oleksandr Usyk | LossKO 8 | 10 November 2018 | Cruiserweight |
| 10 | Tony Bellew | $5,400,000$5.4m | David Haye | WinTKO 5 | 5 May 2018 | Cruiserweight |
| 11 | Deontay Wilder | $4,600,000$4.6m | Luis Ortiz | WinTKO 10 | 3 March 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 12 | Terence Crawford | $3,625,000$3.6m | Jose Benavidez Jr | WinTKO | 13 October 2018 | Middleweight |
| 13 | Dillian Whyte | $3,500,000$3.5m | Derek Chisora | WinKO 11 | 22 December 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 14 | Leo Santa Cruz | $3,500,000$3.5m | Abner Mares | WinUD | 9 June 2018 | Super Featherweight |
| 15 | Terence Crawford | $3,000,000$3.0m | Jeff Horn | WinTKO 9 | 9 June 2018 | Middleweight |
| 16 | Joseph Parker | $2,800,000$2.8m | Dillian Whyte | LossUD | 28 July 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 17 | Danny Garcia | $2,750,000$2.8m | Brandon Ríos | WinTKO 9 | 17 February 2018 | Light Middleweight |
| 18 | Danny Garcia | $2,700,000$2.7m | Shawn Porter | LossUD | 8 September 2018 | Light Middleweight |
| 19 | Oleksandr Usyk | $2,200,000$2.2m | Tony Bellew | WinKO 8 | 10 November 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 20 | Derek Chisora | $2,000,000$2.0m | Dillian Whyte | LossKO 11 | 22 December 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 21 | Dillian Whyte | $2,000,000$2.0m | Lucas Browne | WinKO 6 | 24 March 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 22 | Chris Eubank Jr | $1,970,000$2.0m | George Groves | LossUD | 17 February 2018 | Middleweight |
| 23 | Dillian Whyte | $1,800,000$1.8m | Joseph Parker | WinUD | 28 July 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 24 | Kubrat Pulev | $1,583,334$1.6m | Hughie Fury | WinUD | 27 October 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 25 | Luis Ortiz | $1,500,000$1.5m | Deontay Wilder | LossTKO 10 | 3 March 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 26 | Amir Khan | $1,000,000$1.0m | Samuel Vargas | WinUD | 8 September 2018 | Welterweight |
| 27 | Tyson Fury | $1,000,000$1.0m | Francesco Pianeta | WinPTS | 18 August 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 28 | Tyson Fury | $1,000,000$1.0m | Sefer Seferi | WinRTD 4 | 9 June 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 29 | Amir Khan | $950,000$950k | Phil Lo Greco | WinTKO 1 | 21 April 2018 | Welterweight |
| 30 | Gilberto Ramírez | $825,000$825k | Jesse Hart | WinMD | 14 December 2018 | Cruiserweight |
| 31 | Andy Ruiz Jr | $500,000$500k | Devin Vargas | WinKO 1 | 10 March 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 32 | Badou Jack | $500,000$500k | Adonis Stevenson | DrawMD | 19 May 2018 | Cruiserweight |
| 33 | Chris Eubank Jr | $500,000$500k | JJ McDonagh | WinRTD 3 | 28 September 2018 | Middleweight |
| 34 | Derek Chisora | $500,000$500k | Carlos Takam | WinTKO 8 | 28 July 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 35 | Joseph Parker | $500,000$500k | Alexander Flores | WinKO 3 | 15 December 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 36 | David Benavidez | $400,000$400k | Ronald Gavril | WinUD | 17 February 2018 | Super Lightweight |
| 37 | Luis Ortiz | $375,000$375k | Travis Kauffman | WinTKO | 1 December 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 38 | Gervonta Davis | $350,000$350k | Jesús Cuellar | WinKO 3 | 21 April 2018 | Super Featherweight |
| 39 | Luis Ortiz | $350,000$350k | Razvan Cojanu | WinTKO 2 | 28 July 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 40 | Gilberto Ramírez | $300,000$300k | Roamer Alexis Angulo | WinUD | 30 June 2018 | Cruiserweight |
| 41 | Oleksandr Usyk | $300,000$300k | Murat Gassiev | WinUD | 21 July 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 42 | Gilberto Ramírez | $275,000$275k | Habib Ahmed | WinTKO 6 | 3 February 2018 | Cruiserweight |
| 43 | Oleksandr Usyk | $250,000$250k | Mairis Briedis | WinMD | 27 January 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 44 | Andy Ruiz Jr | $200,000$200k | Kevin Johnson | WinUD | 7 July 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 45 | Dmitry Bivol | $150,000$150k | Jean Pascal | WinUD | 24 November 2018 | Light Heavyweight |
| 46 | Dmitry Bivol | $100,000$100k | Isaac Chilemba | WinUD | 4 August 2018 | Light Heavyweight |
| 47 | Devin Haney | $75,000$75k | Juan Carlos Burgos | WinUD | 28 September 2018 | Lightweight |
| 48 | Dmitry Bivol | $75,000$75k | Sullivan Barrera | WinTKO | 3 March 2018 | Light Heavyweight |
| 49 | Lamont Roach Jr | $75,000$75k | Alberto Mercado | WinUD | 15 December 2018 | Super Featherweight |
| 50 | Devin Haney | $60,000$60k | Mason Menard | WinRTD 9 | 11 May 2018 | Lightweight |
| 51 | Lamont Roach Jr | $40,000$40k | Deivi Julio | - | 20 July 2018 | Super Featherweight |
| 52 | Lamont Roach Jr | $40,000$40k | Orlando Cruz | DrawSD | 19 April 2018 | Super Featherweight |
| 53 | Daniel Dubois | $30,000$30k | Kevin Johnson | WinPTS | 6 October 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 54 | David Allen | $30,000$30k | Tony Yoka | LossTKO | 23 June 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 55 | Daniel Dubois | $25,000$25k | Tom Little | WinTKO 5 | 23 June 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 56 | David Allen | $25,000$25k | Ariel Bracamonte | WinRTD 7 | 10 November 2018 | Heavyweight |
| 57 | Teofimo Lopez Jr | $20,000$20k | Mason Menard | WinKO 1 | 8 December 2018 | Super Lightweight |
The belts on the line in 2018
37 of the 57 purses we hold from 2018 were paid for a night with a world title on it. The rows overlap: a unification puts more than one belt on the same fight.
| BELT | BOUTS | TOTAL PURSES | BIGGEST PURSE |
|---|---|---|---|
| WBA | 16 | $177,405,000$177.4m | Canelo Alvarez |
| WBO | 18 | $100,250,000$100.3m | Anthony Joshua |
| WBC | 17 | $99,510,000$99.5m | Canelo Alvarez |
| IBF | 7 | $81,835,000$81.8m | Anthony Joshua |
| IBO | 4 | $73,270,000$73.3m | Anthony Joshua |
| The Ring | 4 | $50,460,000$50.5m | Canelo Alvarez |
26 of the 56 bouts we hold a result for ended before the last scheduled round.
How 2018 compares
Purses paid in each year we hold, in time order.
$85m 09
$82m 10
$119m 11
$167m 12
$160m 13
$196m 14
$503m 15
$126m 16
$424m 17
$251m 18
$403m 19
$175m 20
$288m 21
$329m 22
$417m 23
$782m 24
$811m 25
$154m 26
2018 ranks 9 of the 18 years on record, worth 4.6% of the $5,470,613,459 paid across them. That is 40.7% less than 2017, which paid $423,523,666.
What a purse is, and what it is not
Every figure on these pages is what a boxer was paid to fight: the contracted purse for one night. It is not what he earned that year and it is not his income. Pay-per-view points, sponsorship, ticket money and whatever a promoter settles afterwards sit outside it. A bonus written into the fight contract is inside it.
Frequently asked questions
How much were boxers paid in 2018?
$251,008,334, across 57 bouts and 28 boxers. That is a mean of $4,403,655 a bout.
Who was the highest paid boxer of 2018?
Canelo Alvarez, on $73,000,000 from 2 bouts in 2018, ahead of Anthony Joshua on $54,000,000.
What was the biggest purse of 2018?
$40,000,000, to Canelo Alvarez against Gennadiy Golovkin on 15 September 2018.
Boxing purses year by year
The 18 years we hold enough purses to rank, newest first.