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1. Canelo Alvarez (previously No. 1): Though we haven’t been a fan of the recent opponents he’s fought – pretty much anybody not named Gennady Golovkin – Alvarez is still the biggest draw in the sport. As evidenced by the fact Alvarez drew more than 50,000 fans to AT&T Stadium and close to 300,000 PPV buys, generating a domestic gate of $20 million, to watch him fight the virtually unknown Liam Smith. It’s unclear who Alvarez will fight next, but his fans likely will come along for the ride.
2. Gennady Golovkin (previously No. 2): He made a nice payday in knocking out Kell Brook in the U.K. – it was reportedly somewhere in the $3-5 million range – and he’ll likely earn plenty of money if he can fight Daniel Jacobs in the early part of next year. Oscar De La Hoya claims he’s made Golovkin an eight-figure offer to fight Alvarez and that Golovkin hasn’t accepted. But if that was, say, a $10 million offer, it makes sense for Golovkin not to accept, because he’d likely make exponentially more money by negotiating a percentage of the gate rather than a set fee.
3. Andre Ward (previously No. 4): A win on Nov. 19 vs. Sergey Kovalev would keep him in this spot on the list and could earn him the title of “best boxer in the world.”
4. Sergey Kovalev (previously No. 5): A win on Nov. 19 vs. Andre Ward would move him into Ward’s spot on this list and could earn him the title of “best boxer in the world.”
5. Wladimir Klitschko (previously No. 3): Although Tyson Fury is still the lineal champion, Klitschko, even at 40 years old, is still the moneymaker of the heavyweight division. He’s out for the rest of the year with an injury, but a matchup against Anthony Joshua in the early part of 2017 would be a huge event in Europe.
6. Keith Thurman (previously No. 7): He’s signed for a big fight against Danny Garcia that could be shown on primetime CBS. He most likely will earn another paycheck in the same range as the $1.4 million purse he took while beating Shawn Porter earlier this year.
7. Deontay Wilder (previously No. 6): He hasn’t fought since the summer because of injuries suffered while knocking out Chris Arreola, but considering Wilder was supposed to earn $4.5 million in a fight vs. Alexander Povetkin before Povetkin failed a drug test, Wilder’s potential moneymaking skills are still impressive.
8. Terence Crawford (previously No. 8): Returning to HBO on Dec. 10 after a $1.3 million payday vs. Viktor Postol this summer, Crawford will face the sturdy John Molina Jr., who’s coming off an upset win of Ruslan Provodnikov. Crawford’s PPV numbers weren’t good vs. Postol – reportedly, about 50,000 people bought the fight – and it’ll be interesting to see how an HBO main event featuring Crawford will fare against a Dec. 10 Showtime card that will package strong fights in Jesus Cueller vs. Abner Mares and Jermall Charlo vs. Julian Williams.
9. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (previously unranked): In his first HBO main event vs. Carlos Cuadras in September, Gonzalez showed a little vulnerability but put on a fantastic fight in order to keep his undefeated record intact. He also made a $400,000 payday.
10. Errol Spence (previously No. 9): After earning $250,000 in a spectacular knockout of Leonard Bundu in August, Spence doesn’t have a fight set for the early part of next year. But he’s perhaps the most exciting prospect in the sport, and the last time he was featured on a national TV broadcast, the ratings were exceptional.
2. Gennady Golovkin (previously No. 2): He made a nice payday in knocking out Kell Brook in the U.K. – it was reportedly somewhere in the $3-5 million range – and he’ll likely earn plenty of money if he can fight Daniel Jacobs in the early part of next year. Oscar De La Hoya claims he’s made Golovkin an eight-figure offer to fight Alvarez and that Golovkin hasn’t accepted. But if that was, say, a $10 million offer, it makes sense for Golovkin not to accept, because he’d likely make exponentially more money by negotiating a percentage of the gate rather than a set fee.
3. Andre Ward (previously No. 4): A win on Nov. 19 vs. Sergey Kovalev would keep him in this spot on the list and could earn him the title of “best boxer in the world.”
4. Sergey Kovalev (previously No. 5): A win on Nov. 19 vs. Andre Ward would move him into Ward’s spot on this list and could earn him the title of “best boxer in the world.”
5. Wladimir Klitschko (previously No. 3): Although Tyson Fury is still the lineal champion, Klitschko, even at 40 years old, is still the moneymaker of the heavyweight division. He’s out for the rest of the year with an injury, but a matchup against Anthony Joshua in the early part of 2017 would be a huge event in Europe.
6. Keith Thurman (previously No. 7): He’s signed for a big fight against Danny Garcia that could be shown on primetime CBS. He most likely will earn another paycheck in the same range as the $1.4 million purse he took while beating Shawn Porter earlier this year.
7. Deontay Wilder (previously No. 6): He hasn’t fought since the summer because of injuries suffered while knocking out Chris Arreola, but considering Wilder was supposed to earn $4.5 million in a fight vs. Alexander Povetkin before Povetkin failed a drug test, Wilder’s potential moneymaking skills are still impressive.
8. Terence Crawford (previously No. 8): Returning to HBO on Dec. 10 after a $1.3 million payday vs. Viktor Postol this summer, Crawford will face the sturdy John Molina Jr., who’s coming off an upset win of Ruslan Provodnikov. Crawford’s PPV numbers weren’t good vs. Postol – reportedly, about 50,000 people bought the fight – and it’ll be interesting to see how an HBO main event featuring Crawford will fare against a Dec. 10 Showtime card that will package strong fights in Jesus Cueller vs. Abner Mares and Jermall Charlo vs. Julian Williams.
9. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (previously unranked): In his first HBO main event vs. Carlos Cuadras in September, Gonzalez showed a little vulnerability but put on a fantastic fight in order to keep his undefeated record intact. He also made a $400,000 payday.
10. Errol Spence (previously No. 9): After earning $250,000 in a spectacular knockout of Leonard Bundu in August, Spence doesn’t have a fight set for the early part of next year. But he’s perhaps the most exciting prospect in the sport, and the last time he was featured on a national TV broadcast, the ratings were exceptional.
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