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Philippines, 04 Feb 2026 |
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FORBES BEST PAID ATHLETES LIST: MAYWEATHER, No. 1; PACQUIAO, No. 2 By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Tue, 19 Jun 2012  ?Fighter of the Decade? Manny Pacquiao who is busy helping his constituents in the flood-stricken province of Sarangani while Floyd Mayweather Jr languishes in prison, has jumped from No. 24 to No.2 in Forbes Magazine?s list of the 100 ?Best Paid Athletes? in the world. But Mayweather who shares the No. 2 pound for pound ranking in Ring Magazine?s pound for pound list after Pacquiao dropped from the top spot to tie Mayweather with no fighter named as pound for pound king, has the distinction of being the top dog in terms of earnings. Golfing great Tiger Woods who topped the list since 2001 fell to No. 3 while NBA Most Valuable Player Lebron James of the championship-seeking Miami Heat is at No. 4 and tennis superstar Roger Federer at No. 5. Pacquiao?s earnings of $62 million catapulted him into second place with his last two fights against Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley in the last twelve months. Both title fights which ended in controversy, netted Pacquiao an estimated $56 million including the television rights fees he earned from Solar Sports which has the TV rights to his fights in the Philippines. There were many who questioned Pacquiao?s split decision victory over Marquez in their third fight while there was worldwide condemnation of the judges decision awarding Bradley a split decision win last June 9 over Pacquiao. A worldwide poll by HBO Sports saw 91 percent state they believed Pacquiao won the fight which has spawned an investigation by Nevada State Attorney General?s Office, a review by the World Boxing Organization and congressional action spearheaded by Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid and former Republican presidential aspirant Sen. John McCain. Pacquiao?s fights are telecast over GMA 7 and to Filipino communities abroad, except the United States and Europe, over ABS-CBN?s The Filipino Channel. Pacquiao earned an additional $6 million through major endorsements by such global entities as Nike, Hewlett-Packard, Monster Energy and Hennessy. Mayweather also fought twice in the last twelve months. He knocked out Victor Ortiz in bizarre fashion last September and then won a comfortable unanimous twelve round decision over Miguel Cotto whon Pacquiao dropped twice en route to a 12th round TKO three years earlier. Mayweather Jr earned $85 million for the two fights which catapulted him to the top spot. Mayweather maximizes his earnings by acting as his own promoter through his Mayweather Promotions and rakes in all the income from pay-per-view, tickets and sponsorships while he pays his opponent?s purse and other costs which gives him earnings of about 50 percent more than Pacquiao The Cotto fight alone generated $94 million in pay-per-view receipts. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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