Still, the money flowed, swelled by Saudi support. In another era, a warrior earning that kind of fortune would be expected to bleed for it. In 2025, Canelo is paid well to remind everyone who he was, not to show them who he still is.
He slept through William Scull in January during a defense so passive it set records for fewest punches thrown over twelve rounds. Nine months later, he dropped a clear decision to Terence Crawford after being outboxed, outworked and exposed. Both have generated massive wallets. Neither has justified his position as boxing’s highest-paid active fighter.
Which exposes the numbers on Alvarez’s decline
Crawford collected $60 million for one show, beating Alvarez after jumping two weight classes and making him look ordinary. Naoya Inoue earned $62 million over four undisputed defenses at super bantamweight, stopping three opponents and dominating a former unified champion. Jake Paul banked $60 million for two fights, including a broken jaw loss to Anthony Joshua.
Alvarez made more than everyone while delivering less. The Scull defense generated broadcast revenue for an act that belongs on an undercard. Crawford was the first dangerous opponent Canelo had faced in years, and the result was a one-sided schooling that exposed every lapse in foot speed, punch selection and ring generalship.
The financial model rewards commercial leverage, not competitive performance, which explains how Canelo Alvarez keeps cashing checks while dodging David Benavidez and handpicking opponents who pose minimal threat. Inoue has defended four times in twelve months against direct challengers and made less than half of Canelo’s total. Crawford fought once, dominated and earned $6 million in endorsements compared to Alvarez’s $12 million, despite fewer belts and less frequent fights.
The Scull Fight revealed the strategy
That January defense was calculated inactivity. Alvarez threw fewer punches than any champion in a twelve-round fight because he could. Scull posed no danger, had no name value, and existed solely to fulfill a contractual obligation while preserving wear and tear on a 34-year-old body already showing miles.
The lack of urgency, punching volume and competitive fire confirmed what observers already suspected: Canelo is no longer fighting to prove greatness. He fights to maintain revenue streams while expending minimal effort against carefully selected opposition. The Crawford fight was supposed to silence critics, but instead it validated them. Crawford, climbing from welterweight, controlled distance, landed cleaner shots and made Alvarez look slow and predictable.
Where Alvarez stands at $137 million
He remains boxing’s biggest gate attraction while not being anywhere near its best active fighter. Inoue holds all four belts and defends them against mandatory challengers and unification targets. Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury twice in twelve months. Crawford added the scalp of Alvarez to a ledger that already included stoppages from Errol Spence Jr. and included Shawn Porter.
Alvarez’s last notable win came in 2021 against Caleb Plant. Nothing since has matched the same level of opposition or execution.
None of the 2025 fight results bolster his case for Fighter of the Year or Ring pound-for-pound recognition. The $137 million reflects market power built on past performance, not current dominance, and that gap widens with every calculated defense and every loss to elite opposition.
Canelo earned more than LeBron James and Lionel Messi, athletes who continue to perform at championship levels. He did it while losing to a welterweight and riding through a defense against a fighter no one remembers. The money keeps flowing. The ring work continues to decline.
The complete Sportico Top 30
Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer: $260 million
Canelo Alvarez, boxing: $137 million
Lionel Messi, soccer: $130 million
Juan Soto, baseball: $129.2 million
LeBron James, NBA: $128.7 million
Karim Benzema, soccer: $115m
Stephen Curry, NBA: $105.4 million
Shohei Ohtani, NBA: $102.5 million
Kevin Durant, NBA: $100.8 million
Jon Rahm, golf: $100.7 million
Lewis Hamilton, F1: $100 million
Kylian Mbappe, soccer: $95 million
Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA: $94.3 million
Rory McIlroy, golf: $91.2 million
Max Verstappen, F1: $83 million
Scottie Scheffler, golf: $82.9 million
Patrick Mahomes, NFL: $80.3 million
Erling Haaland, soccer: $77.9 million
Josh Allen, NFL: $73.2 million
Justin Herbert, NFL: $71.1 million
Blake Snell, baseball: $66m
Terence Crawford, Boxing: $66 million
Bryson Dechambeau, golf: $62.7 million
Anthony Edwards, NBA: $62.2 million
Naoya Inoue, boxing: $62 million
Joel Embiid, NBA: $61m
Jayson Tatum, NBA: $60.4 million
Jimmy Butler, NBA: $60.3 million
Nikola Jokic, NBA: $60.2 million
Jake Paul, boxing: $60 million
