10. Billy Joe Saunders | £5.7 million

Saunders earned his biggest purse to date when he took on Alvarez in Texas.

The Brit put up a solid effort but was pulled after the seventh round after an uppercut from Alvarez left him with a fractured eye socket.

9. Dustin Poirier | £7.2 million

Poirier earned the bulk of his earnings from his two fights against McGregor, both of which he won.

The American collected over £3m in the first fight on ‘Fight Island’ and a projected £3.7m when he beat the Irishman again at UFC 264.

8. Deontay Wilder | £8.2 million

Wilder’s blockbuster duel against Fury in October netted him more than £8 million.

It was a fitting end to the iconic trilogy.

7. Tyson Fury | £13 million

Boxing fans will hope Fury is more active in 2022.

The WBC heavyweight champion is facing a mandatory bout against Dillian Whyte, although a unification fight against Oleksandr Usyk is the dream contest.

5. Anthony Joshua | £15 million

 Joshua may have lost his belts to Usyk but his bank balance stays winning.

The Brit is keen to face Usyk again in a rematch which will earn him another hefty purse.

5. Logan Paul | £15 million

Paul received a guaranteed £7m following his exhibition fight against Mayweather and estimated pay-per-view sales take his earnings to £15m.

Mayweather barely broke a sweat but he did praise Paul afterwards, saying: “He’s better than I thought he was… he’s a tough, rough competitor.”

4. Jake Paul | £31 million

Say what you like about Jake Paul but boy did he do well in 2021.

The 24-year-old social media personality-turned-boxer recorded knockout wins against Askren and twice against Woodley.

His first bout against Woodley saw him earn over £10m after PPV sales, and the way he’s headed - he’s called out a host of fighters, including Conor McGregor - there are more lucrative paydays to come.

3. McGregor

Imagine not winning in an entire year and still earning more than £36m. 

UFC star  McGregor  remains the promotion’s biggest draw and, despite losing twice to Poirier, his projected earnings from the trilogy event were a monstrous £22m.

2. Floyd Mayweather | £48.2 million

They call him ‘Money’ for a reason, and Mayweather  demonstrated it last year by collecting an estimated £48.2m simply through one exhibition bout that lasted eight rounds.

1. Canelo Alvarez | £65.7 million

In top spot - and deserving of that - is Alvarez, who became the undisputed super-middleweight world champion in 2021.

The Mexican fought three times, beating Avni Yildirim, Saunders and Caleb Plant. His history-making win over Plant netted him a huge £29.6m.