Boxer, Floyd Mayweather ranks No 1. on Forbes World’s 100 Highest-Paid Athletes

Floyd Mayweather

  Forbes Releases List of World's 100 Highest-Paid Athletes

According to Forbes.com, Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. “Money" fought twice during the past 12 months, knocking out Victor Ortiz in September and winning a unanimous decision in May against Miguel Cotto. He spent less than one hour in the ring to dispatch his two foes.

His combined payday for the bouts: $85 million. Floyd Mayweather To-Do List: Fight, Collect $45 Million, Report To Jail Kurt Badenhausen Kurt Badenhausen Forbes Staff The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams Kurt Badenhausen Kurt Badenhausen Forbes Staff Floyd Mayweather Joins List Of Famous Jailed Athletes Kurt Badenhausen Kurt Badenhausen Forbes Staff.




2^nd place on the list is another boxer, Manny Pacquiao who earned $62 million in the last 12 months.  His earnings include $56 million from fighting Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley, and $6 million from
endorsements with Nike, Hewlett-Packard, Monster Energy and Hennessy.
These rankings placed Tiger Woods in 3^rd place with $59.4 million after his earnings dropped by $16 million from last year alone.  Despite this, Tiger Woods is still ranked by Forbes as the world’s most powerful athlete. He was ranked No. 12 in on the Forbes Celebrity 100 in 2012, down from No. 6 in 2011.

LeBron James leads the 13 basketball players that made the cut. James ranks fourth overall with earnings of $53 million.

This makes him the top athlete for the 11th straight year, a feat which only U.S athlete, Michael Jordan beat when he ranked No 1. on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 1999.

Also on the list; David Beckham remains the highest earning footballer, with £29.3 million, out of which he earned £23.5 million in endorsements alone.

Two women also made the top 100. World’s No. 1 tennis player, Maria Sharapova who ranks at No. 26 with earnings of $27.9 million and Chinese tennis player,  Li Na who ranks at No. 81 with overall earnings  of $18.4 million.