Canelo Alvarez lands No. 2 on Forbes highest-paid athletes list

Canelo Alvarez banked $170 million in 2025 to land second on Forbes' World's Highest-Paid Athletes list, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo's $300 million haul, according to ESPN.

The Mexican star pulled in $160 million from fight purses and another $10 million from sponsorships, per the outlet's report. That total came despite a mixed 2026 campaign that saw Alvarez drop a decision to Terence Crawford for the undisputed middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight championship after outpointing William Scull in May.

Canelo returns September 12 in Riyadh against Mbilli

Alvarez hasn't fought since the Crawford loss, opting instead for elbow surgery. He is scheduled to return September 12 when he faces Christian Mbilli for the WBC middleweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super middleweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Jake Paul also cracked the list at No. 23 with $70 million in earnings, reportedly stemming from a 1-1 year that included a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in December. Paul has been sidelined with a broken jaw and is targeting an early 2027 comeback.

Ronaldo topped the Forbes rankings for the fourth straight year. Lionel Messi ($140 million), LeBron James ($137.8 million), and Shohei Ohtani ($127.6 million) rounded out the top five.

Source: espn.com