Canelo Alvarez Lands No. 2 Spot on Sportico’s 2025 Earnings List

Canelo Alvarez finished 2025 with bruises on his record and a windfall in his accounts. The year asked hard questions of the sport’s biggest draw. It also paid him like one.

In May, Canelo Alvarez defended his undisputed super middleweight titles against William Scull in a fight that did little to stir the blood. Four months later came the shock.

Terence Crawford climbed two divisions and outboxed the champion over twelve rounds in September, handing Alvarez one of the most unexpected defeats of his career.

A new report from Sportico lists Alvarez as the second highest paid athlete in the world for 2025. His total haul is estimated at 137 million dollars.

The vast majority came from fight purses, with endorsements making up the rest. In pure earning power, Alvarez finished ahead of icons like Lionel Messi and LeBron James.

Only one name stood above him. Cristiano Ronaldo topped the list for a third straight year, buoyed by a massive contract with Al Nassr and lucrative off field deals linked to the Saudi Pro League.

Alvarez now turns the page. He is scheduled to headline a “Mexico against the World” event on September 12 in Riyadh. The opponent is not yet known, but Turki Alalshikh has promised a major occasion.

For Alvarez, 2025 proved that even when the ring turns cold, the market rarely does. It’ll be difficult for the Mexican star to equal the money he made last year in 2026, as he’s expected to sit out of the ring until September, coming back from elbow surgery.

Depending on how difficult that fight turns out to be for Canelo, he could return in December to squeeze out a second fight this year. A lot will depend on injuries and the outcome of his September fight.

The biggest potential money fights out there for Canelo in 2026 are against these fighters:

1. David Benavidez
2. Hamzah Sheeraz
3. Christian Mbilli
4. Chris Eubank Jr.
5. Terence Crawford rematch