Floyd Mayweather biggest purse: Most money the undefeated boxer has made for one night of work

Floyd Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather has been part of some of the biggest money fights over the years, including the 2015 highest-grossing PPV event bout with Manny Pacquiao. In that fight, he took home something between $180-$200 million along with a win.

Floyd Mayweather will fight Logan Paul in an exhibition match next year on February 20. Undefeated with 50 wins under his belt, Floyd Mayweather has only one reason to agree to fight YouTuber Logan Paul - the fight purse.


The highest fight purse of Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather came out of retirement in 2017 to fight UFC superstar Conor McGregor, which was literally named the 'Money Fight'. Mayweather had 49 professional boxing wins under his name, while McGregor had none.

The fight purses alone could have justified the decision, as Floyd Mayweather took home something around $275-$280 million for the bout. However, unlike the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight, this one did not disappoint in terms of the action.

Conor McGregor put up with the veteran boxer for ten rounds before looking beaten and exhausted, and getting knocked out after a valiant effort.

Despite the loss, this was Conor McGregor's biggest purse till date as well. 'The Notorious' reportedly took home approximately $130 million. The disclosed paycheck for Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor was $100 million and $30 million.

Forbes' Kurt Badenhousen reported in 2018 that the fight was the "biggest single payday in the history of sports".

The match undoubtedly got to be the larger-than-life event it was, because of both the participants' abilities to do so. As Badenhousen stated in his report, this was a fight solely incited by the press and social media.


The backdrop of the fight

Throughout the first half of 2020, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor kept calling each other out over the internet. Mayweather even went as far as saying only a fight with McGregor would bring him out of retirement.

UFC President Dana White did not seem too interested in the matchup initially, but he later changed his stance after seeing the moneymaking opportunity the fight had.

Around May, Conor McGregor agreed to the terms and conditions of Floyd Mayweather and signed the contract for a boxing match with him. The rest is, as they say, history.

Even though McGregor lost the bout, the courage he showed while fighting one of the greatest boxers in a sport he never had a professional outing before will be remembered by many for a long time. McGregor's Dublin gym had a mural painted of him hitting Mayweather with his lethal left-handed punch.

Either way, both the fighters took home a fat paycheck - the biggest of both their careers till date.

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