The Most Successful Boxers in the World, Ranked

Shannon Briggs is an American boxer who’s fought some of the best in the business throughout his long career. He and George Foreman fought for a belt in 1997, with Briggs taking the fight by decision. Along with boxing, Briggs has also appeared in a couple of different Hollywood movies, which no doubt added to his net worth of $10 million. Reportedly, Briggs began boxing when he was 17 years old. 

Sergio Martinez hails from Argentina and unlike a lot of boxers on this list, he actually didn’t get his start in the ring. Martinez was a gifted athlete and actually started out playing soccer and cycling before he decided to put his skills to use in boxing. Multiple sports outlets, including Sports Illustrated, once ranked Martinez as one of the best boxers in the world. He fought during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Regilio Tuur is probably one of the most famous boxers to come out of the Netherlands. He also had a pretty impressive record, taking on 51 fights and only losing 4 of them. During those fights, he had an impressive 30 knockouts, and his heavy hands came in handy during the 1998 Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea. During the games, he knocked out the man who, at the time, was the world champion. 

Laila Ali is one of the only female boxers on this list, and her name might sound a bit familiar to you even if you don’t watch boxing. That’s because she’s the daughter of Muhammid Ali, probably the greatest boxer of all time. Not only that, but she had a successful television career after she retired from boxing. When she was in the ring, she was extremely dangerous and one of the best female boxers of all time. 

The country of Mexico has produced plenty of great fighters, but Julio César Chávez is considered by many to be the best of all time. ESPN has also ranked him among the best 50 fighters to ever step into the ring. During his career, he managed to capture championship belts from three different weight divisions, proving that he could dominate just about anywhere he went. Some considered his prime to be during the early 1990s, but he fought for over 20 years. 

Joshua Clottey was a fighter out of Ghana who rose up through the ranks to take on some of the biggest superstars in the sport, including Manny Pacquiao. He won 41 of his bouts and lost 5 of his matches, although he’s never been knocked out. He first rose to fame after competing in the Commonwealth Games back in 1994, but it took him more than a decade to capture a belt. 

Joe Calzaghe is a boxer who hails from Wales in the U.K. He has one of the most impressive records ever recorded in boxing and retired without ever losing a fight. Not only that, but he also has the distinction of being the longest-running super middleweight champ ever, with nobody able to beat him during his 10 years as world champion. By the time he’d retired, he’d racked up some 46 wins. 

Frank Bruno is considered one of the toughest fighters of all time, and his fights with the likes of Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis prove it. While he lost both his fights against Tyson, he still had an impressive career that saw him capture a world championship title after four different attempts. He also had a pretty insane knockout rate, with 95% of his wins coming via knockouts against his opponents. 

Andy Ruiz Jr. is another great boxer out of Mexico. In fact, he became the only Mexican boxer to capture a heavyweight title when he beat Anthony Joshua in 2019. He’s since been largely sidelined due to a shoulder injury. Another fight with Joshua later in the same year led to Joshua’s victory. However, Ruiz took home massive purses for each of the bouts and Saudi Arabia reportedly paid some $40 million just for rights to host the fight. 

David Diaz is an American boxer who famously went 26 bouts before finally being defeated by Kendall Holt. His career spanned the late 1990s and into the 2000s, which is when he managed to win the WBO lightweight belt. He also represented the U.S. during the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia. By the time he retired, he’d won 36 of his fights and only lost 4, with 1 draw. 

It’s hard to imagine a more iconic boxing victory than the one Buster Douglas had over Mike Tyson in 1990. During that time, Tyson was still considered by many to be unbeatable, so Douglas’s victory shocked everyone. After his victory, Douglas went on to fight another legend in Evander Holyfield. However, Holyfield would prove to be too much and win the fight. Still, the payout provided Douglas with enough money to retire from boxing. 

Antonio Margarito is an American fighter with an illustrious career, but also one that included a bit of controversy. He was caught wrapping his hands with gypsum, which produced a cast-like material and was meant to harden his punches. He was suspended for around a year after that. However, he still had a pretty impressive career that saw him net some $15 million and challenge some of the biggest names in boxing. 

Larry Holmes is considered by many to be one of the best heavyweight fighters in history. His 1980 fight with Muhammad Ali saw him topple the sport’s greatest boxer. Holmes is worth around $18 million today, but not all of that came from his boxing career, as Holmes proved to be a pretty successful businessman after he retired. He was a world champion from 1978 to 1985, during which he captured multiple belts. 

Nigel Benn hails from the U.K. and boxed professionally for a little over a decade, earning world champion status in two different weight classes back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He’s quite famously dedicated nearly 20 years of retirement to working with different charities and helping to counsel people with addiction and marital issues. In addition to his charity work, Benn also occasionally trains boxers in his new home country of Australia. 

Juan Manuel Marquez hails from Mexico, and his career spanned nearly two decades. During that time, he claimed world champion status in a total of four different weight classes. Marquez started boxing from a very young age and eventually rose up through the ranks to fight some of the best in the business, including a bout with Manny Pacquiao that won him $5 million. The two went on to fight three more times. 

Former boxer Freddie Roach looked as though he was about to begin a legendary boxing career before health issues forced him to retire from the sport. He boxed from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, during which he racked up 41 wins and 13 losses and earned a reputation as a brawler. However, his retirement didn’t mark the end of his story and he went on to become a legendary trainer. 

British boxer David Haye’s career spanned from 2002 to 2018, during which he captured both the heavyweight and cruiserweight world champion titles. However, an early stop during a match in 2018 marked his retirement and the end of his career. Still, Haye is remembered today as one of the best British fighters of all time, and he ended up retiring with a record of 28 wins and only four losses. 

Carl Froch is another successful British boxing legend. He racked up around 33 wins and only 2 losses before he retired. He held four different championship belts throughout his career, and today, he mostly works as a boxing analyst. He retired on back-to-back wins defending his championship belt. Froch is a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, and his only two losses came by decisions, and he was only ever knocked down twice. 

Sonny Bill Williams hails from New Zealand, and he’s worth around $25 million dollars, partly due to a successful boxing career but also partly due to his job before that. He didn’t start out as a boxer; instead, he started out as a rugby player before developing an interest in the sport and switching to boxing. Unlike a lot of other boxers on this list, he only fought six matches. 

Miguel Cotto comes from a long line of Puerto Rican fighters, but he managed to do what none of the rest did when he became the holder of four belts in four different weight classes. His career spanned from 2001 to 2017, and during that time, he fought some of the best fighters in the world, including Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. His record was 41 wins with 6 losses. 

Gennady Golovkin is a legendary middleweight fighter who has an impressive record of almost 400 fights without a single knockdown. He has 42 wins and only 2 losses to his name, with both losses coming by decision. Part of the reason he’s ranked as one of the wealthiest boxers in the world is the fact that he’s also a pretty successful businessman and has been able to leverage his fame for brand deals.

Felix Trinidad is a heavy-handed boxer whose career spanned nearly two decades, beginning back in 1990. Trinidad is from Puerto Rico, and he’s held multiple championship titles throughout his career, as well as some wins over some pretty spectacular boxers. By the time he retired, he’d won 42 bouts and lost only 2. Perhaps one of his most famous wins was over Oscar De La Hoya during a fight in 1999. 

Deontay Wilder is probably one of the most famous fighters out there today. And that fame, coupled with his knockout power, has led to some pretty big paydays. His bouts with Tyson Fury landed him millions of dollars, despite all but one of them being losses and the first being a draw. He also netted around $20 million for a rematch fight with Luis Ortiz. He captured the heavyweight title in 2015.

Anthony Mundine is another boxer with some background experience in the sport of rugby. However, his boxing career has since overshadowed his rugby career, with some 20 years of experience in the ring. During that time, he was able to win the super middleweight title a couple of times and increase his net worth to around $30 million. He’s also appeared on different television shows, no doubt adding to his bank account. 

Andre Berto was a welterweight champion and ended up retiring with a record of 32 wins and 6 losses. However, he put all of that prize money to good use and has since become a real estate mogul, with investments in some of the priciest homes you can buy. Berto was born in the U.S. but he holds dual citizenship from both the U.S. and Haiti, where his parents are from.

Naseem Hamed’s legendary career matches his net worth at $33 million. During the 1990s, he was considered a cultural icon in the U.K., where he is from. He captured a couple of different belts during his career, and in his prime, it wasn’t uncommon to see him appear on commercials and late-night TV. shows both in the U.K. and in the U.S. Some even compared his popularity to that of Michael Jordan. 

Ricky Hatton is among the long list of British fighters to make their mark on the sport of boxing. He’s now worth around $40 million, much of which was made during his time accumulating 45 wins and only 3 losses during his career. He won a welterweight belt but mainly competed in light welterweight, where he captured a couple of different championships. Today he mainly works as a boxing promoter. 

Bernard Hopkins had what may have been one of the longest and most successful runs in boxing history. He held titles in two weight divisions, including middleweight and light heavyweight. In addition, during his light heavyweight title capture, his victory cemented him as the oldest person ever to win the title. He also didn’t end up retiring until the age of 52, which is a rarity among fighters and boxers. 

Amir Khan’s career lasted from around 2005 to 2022, but in that time, he gained the distinction of being one of the highest-paid boxers in the world. Khan hails from the U.K. and has captured titles in light welterweight and lightweight divisions from multiple leagues. He’s also appeared on several different T.V. shows, leveraging his boxing fame. At the time of his recent retirement, he has 34 wins and only 6 losses. 

Tyson Fury is another boxer who has seen his fame rise in recent years. Fury is from the U.K. but his parents are from Ireland. He’s become known both for his boxing style and his extravagant displays of wealth. However, with a net worth of $65 million, he can easily afford them. The accomplished boxer has a record of 34 wins, 1 draw to Deontay Wilder, and no losses. 

You don’t have to follow boxing to know the name Vitali Klitschko. Not only has his boxing success led to him being pretty recognizable around the world, but he has also gained notoriety for serving as a Ukrainian politician. Today, he’s the mayor of Kyiv, but during his boxing career, he managed to win multiple championship belts, and he ended up retiring with a record of 64 wins and only 5 losses. 

Another famous British boxer, Anthony Joshua holds a couple of different world heavyweight belts, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. His professional career started around the late 2000s, and he is today ranked in the top five heavyweight fighters by most media organizations. He’s also been ranked as the most “marketable” athlete in the world, which is no surprise considering he’s worth a pretty hefty sum of $80 million. 

Wladimir Klitschko is another famous Ukrainian boxer, but also one of the most decorated fighters in history. He’s held multiple world heavyweight titles and unified titles across a couple of different leagues. A historic run of 22 victories was ended by Tyson Fury in 2015, but by that time, Klitshcko had already earned his place in boxing history with his superb career. He’s estimated net worth is around $90 million.

Sugar Ray Leonard is one of those names that should be recognizable to just about everyone, whether you follow boxing or not. Leonard was a media darling during his time and leveraged his charm and likability, along with his punching power, to increase the prize money of his fights. He was the first boxer to ever break $100 million, and he held several different titles across multiple leagues and weight classes. 

Lennox Lewis fought in the ring from 1989 to 2003, during which time he stepped into the ring with the best of them. When he retired, he’d only lost 2 fights and won 41 bouts. Lewis also has victories over Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, with Lewis taking two fights with the latter by decision. Not to mention, he won a bout with Vitali Klitschko the same year he retired from the sport. 

If you’re talking strictly about boxing achievements and titles, then you have to mention the name Saul Alvarez. He was the first to win the title of the world’s undisputed super middleweight. He held four belts from four different weight classes, and he’s now one of the richest boxers of all time, with a net worth of $180 million. He retired with a pretty spectacular 60 wins and only 2 losses. 

Oscar De La Hoya is another one of those boxers who has become a household name since first entering the ring. With belts from six different weight classes and multiple championship titles, you’d think all of his money came from his bouts in the ring. However, he’s proven to be a pretty adept businessman since he retired from boxing in 2008. When he did retire, he did so with 39 wins and only 6 losses. 

Manny Pacquiao drew in not millions of dollars in revenue from his pay-per-view fights. Actually, he drew in around $1 billion, to be specific. However, he’s also had a pretty successful career outside the ring that’s included singing and time serving as a politician, among other things. He’s beloved in his home country of the Philippines and is known for his work in trying to uplift local impoverished communities. 

George Foreman is one of the few boxers on this list who might be better known for his deals and businesses outside the ring. But that’s not to say he wasn’t an all-time great. He held the heavyweight title twice, and his career spanned decades. His most remembered fight might be the one he had with Muhammid Ali, in which Ali ended up coming away with a victory in 1973. 

For anyone who follows boxing, then the richest boxer in the world shouldn’t really come as any surprise. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is worth an estimated $450 million and his career winnings match top athletes from different sports. He’s never lost a fight and holds an astonishing 50 professional wins, including over fellow champions like Manny Pacquiao and many others on this list. Not to mention, he’s had a couple of high-paying exhibition matches, including against UFC fighter Conor McGregor. For that fight alone, he made some $300 million.