Depending on how old you are you may or may not be familiar with the golden age of boxing. When is that? Debatable. However, boxing really began to generate revenue when Ali fought and then went to an entirely new level when Tyson and Holyfield rose to prominence. Since then boxing revenue has been buoyed by De la Hoya, Pacquiao and Mayweather. Oh and there have been some good fighters in between those two eras. There were some figures outside of the ring who did their part to grow the sport – and also profited from their efforts. Boxing promotion is full of wannabes but when it comes to the elite, they own the game and you can tell by their net worth. Check out the list of the five richest boxing promoters.
Al Haymon – $15 million
Al Haymon isn’t nearly as successful a boxing promoter as some of the other guys on the list, but that doesn’t mean he’s much less powerful. Haymon is most well-known for his ability to land huge money TV deals for his fighters. He was connected to Floyd Mayweather for several years and that helped build his career to what it is today.
50 Cent/Floyd Mayweather – $100 million
As mentioned at the top, Floyd Mayweather is an official boxing promoter. He and 50 Cent were buddies, but they aren’t anymore. That doesn’t mean they’re not boxing promoters anymore because they are. The confusion here is: we’re talking about net worth and while 50 Cent and Floyd have immense Net Worth(s) you can’t attribute that to boxing promotion. With that said, we’re still under the belief they’ll make millions doing that too.
Don King – $150 million
The most-famous of all the boxing promoters is Don King and deservedly so. King took boxing to an incredible level promoting Ali fights that became things of legend. He would go on to promote fights for Frazier, Foreman, Tyson, Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr. and more. That’s pretty much a list of the most famous boxers in the history of planet earth. There’s not much more that can be said about that.
Bob Arum – $200 million
Believe it or not, Don King has a superior – Bob Arum. He and King have had a 40-year rivalry and while King was doing his thing, Arum was building a boxing empire in Las Vegas. He’s had his hands in Ali fights as well as Hagler, Sugar Ray, Holyfield, Foreman, De la Hoya and his golden child Manny Pacquiao. Arum’s fortune is more attributed to modern-day boxing while King built his in the 80’s and 90’s.
Tex Rickard – Unknown
Net worth aside we have to give love to Tex Rickard. Rickard was a business magnate who founded the New York Rangers and had his hands in building the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden and was the first ever real boxing promoter. If he was alive in the modern era he’d probably be a billionaire. Journalist Frank Deford said that Rickard was the “first man to recognize the potential of the star system”.
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