Damn!!! Floyd Mayweather Will Make $41.5 Million Fighting Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez

Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. will make more guaranteed money than anyone in the history of boxing when he faces Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 14, proving his nickname is more fact than fiction.

For less than an hour of work, Mayweather will pocket a record $41.5 million for his junior middleweight title bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a total that could go up, provided he gets a cut of the Pay-Per-View profits, according to Forbes.com. The 36-year-old, who often plays the heel in his bouts, was already the highest paid athlete for any sport over a 12-month period last year, according to Forbes, and he could claim that mantle again after his earnings are tallied up against Alvarez.

Mayweather, who often travels with large wads of cash and wagers big on sports, took home a guaranteed purse of $32 million for easily out-boxing Robert Guerrero this past May (though Mayweather fought with a sore hand), making his earnings for 2013 a whopping $73.5 million for just two bouts. Not bad work if you can get it.

Mayweather's payday is the largest since Evander Holyfield netted $33 million for his rematch against Mike Tyson in 1997. Mayweather also took home a guaranteed $32 million against Miguel Cotto last year.

The bout with the 23-year-old Alvarez is Mayweather's second since leaving HBO and signing a lucrative 30-month deal for six bouts with Showtime/CBS that could give him hundreds of millions of dollars. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, was traveling on Thursday and couldn't be reached immediately. Mayweather also wasn't available. Schaefer and Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe visited the Forbes.com offices on Wednesday in Manhattan to disclose the milestone.

In recent weeks, Schaefer has suggested the Sept. 14 show could surpass the all-time pay-per-view record of 2.44 million buys and generate profits greater than the previous high of $130 million. Those were both achieved when Mayweather beat Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.

Schaefer has tempered those expectations a bit, saying the PPV record might be a bit of a stretch, but he's still optimistic.

The availability of high-def broadcasts has allowed some carriers to raise the price tag of the Showtime PPV to $74.95, according to Forbes.com.

"With the pay-per-view numbers, is it going to break the record? I hope so," Schaefer said on Wednesday during a business summit in Manhattan to discuss the various marketing strategies and advertising muscle involved in the promotion.

"I think it has an opportunity, but if it's going to happen in the end, I don't know. But one thing I know- it's a big fight."

Organizers have spared no expense to make sure of it, orchestrating an 11-city tour in the run-up. Demand for tickets has been rabid with the 16,200-seat MGM Grand selling out within hours, breaking the all-time live-gate record for a fight card with $19.1 million, exceeding the previous record of $18,419,200, according to ESPN.com. Mayweather could claim a share of the PPV revenue depending on the overall numbers at the end of the night.

Meanwhile, Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse are facing each other in the co-feature in a bout that's equally as exciting but that's been overshadowed by Mayweather and his money.







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