The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of boxing, with some of the world’s greatest fighters hailing from the Isles. In the past two decades, the UK has provided some of the world’s most successful and highest-paid boxers, with some of them becoming household names. From the legendary Lennox Lewis to the current heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, British boxers have made a huge impact on the sport.
The aforementioned Fury recently defended his WBC World Heavyweight Crown against the underrated Dereck Chisora. According to Bovada’s boxing odds, the reigning champion was a huge favourite to defend his crown, and he didn’t disappoint. He bullied a game but overmatched challenger, eventually winning by a 10th-round technical knockout and extending his undefeated record to 30-0-1.
Lennox Lewis
At the top of the list of the highest-paid British boxers of the past 20 years is Lennox Lewis. The Lion is the most recent undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Since retiring from the sport following his victory over Vitali Klitschko in 2003, the heavyweight title belts were split up, and nobody has collected all the gold in the two decades since.
Throughout his career, Lewis earned an estimated £100m, making him the highest-paid British boxer of all time. Much of that came from a money-spinning bout with Mike Tyson back in 2002, which did 2.75m pay-per-view buys worldwide. It held the title of highest-grossing boxing event of all time for five years until Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.
Lewis was a dominant force in the heavyweight division, winning all but two of his fights. And even the fights he lost, he went on to avenge in rematches. He was also a savvy businessman, investing in real estate and launching his own clothing line.
David Haye
The second highest-paid British boxer of the past 20 years is David Haye. The Haymaker earned an estimated £50 million during his career, making him the second highest-paid British boxer of all time. Haye was a two-weight world champion, winning titles in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.
He was also a savvy businessman, launching his own clothing line and investing in property.
His 2011 World Heavyweight Championship unification clash with Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg, Germany, was one of the highest-grossing pay-per-views in the history of the United
Kingdom. The fight generated over 1.1m buys domestically however, it ended in disappointment, with the giant Ukrainian picking up a resounding unanimous decision.
Anthony Joshua
Anthony Joshua lands third on the list. AJ has earned an estimated £30 million throughout his career, which is still ongoing. It’s also worth mentioning that his recent bout against Oleksandr Usyk – in which he lost the second of two consecutive fights against the talented Ukrainian – hasn’t been taken into consideration.
Joshua was the unified heavyweight champion of the world, with all but two of his victories coming by way of knockout. Along the way, he has become a global superstar, with his merchandise selling millions of units worldwide. But three defeats in his last five fights means that his star has waned somewhat in recent years.
Both he and Tyson Fury are two of the most successful British boxers of the past 20 years. While The Gypsy King is without a doubt the more talented of the pair, it is AJ who has earned more than the reigning WBC champ as things stand. Joshua should thank the marketing genius of Eddie Hearn for much of his success, but its very possible that Fury will overtake the Matchroom man in the coming years.
Inflation, sponsorship deals, and merchandise sales have all played a huge part in the success of these British boxers. With the rising cost of living, the money earned by boxers has increased significantly over the past two decades. Merchandise sales have also been a major source of income, with their clothing lines and other products selling millions of units worldwide.
Highest Grossing Pay-per-views in British Boxing
It will come as no surprise that the aforementioned heavyweight behemoths feature prominently in the list of highest-grossing pay-per-views in history. What is surprising, however, is that Lennox Lewis – who is number one on our list – doesn’t come anywhere close to the top spot domestically. The Lion did, however, earn the vast amount of his wealth from the lucrative American market, whose pay-per-view prices are some five times more than those of the UK.
Anthony Joshua holds five of the top six spots, with his bouts against Joseph Parker, Wladimir Klitschko, Andy Ruiz, Alexander Povetkin, and Oleksandr Usyk all doing huge numbers in the UK.
David Haye comes in at numbers five and seven, courtesy of his defeats against Tony Bellew and Klitschko.
There is also an honourable mention for Ricky Hatton in the top ten. His 2007 welterweight knockout defeat against Floyd Mayweather did over 1m buys in the UK and a further 900,000 in the US.
