Floyd Mayweather tops Forbes' list of highest-paid sports stars of the decade

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has topped Forbes' list of the decade's richest athletes. Photo / Getty Images

Retired boxer Floyd Mayweather has never been one to shy away from flaunting his wealth. Now, Forbes has revealed just how much the 42-year-old has made over the past decade.

Mayweather topped Forbes' list of the highest paid sport stars for the past decade, earning a staggering NZ$1.37b, despite fighting just 10 times in as many years.

The American retired in August of 2017 after stopping UFC superstar Conor McGregor in their boxing match. It was the richest bout in boxing history, earning Mayweather an estimated $433 million. It was just one of a number of lucrative paydays over Mayweather's career, with his 2015 bout against Manny Pacquiao also earning him close to $290m.

Mayweather topped the rich list ahead of footballers Cristiano Ronaldo (NZ$1.2b) and Lionel Messi (NZ$1.13b), with NBA superstar LeBron James (NZ$1.02b) and tennis legend Roger Federer (NZ$964m) rounding out the top five.

Congratulations to every athlete on this list ! pic.twitter.com/FzqpE7sFxa

— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) December 24, 2019

‘Money May' lives up to the moniker 💵@FloydMayweather tops @Forbes list of highest paid athletes this decade. pic.twitter.com/GzOeVh6Dge

— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 24, 2019

While he retired in 2017, Mayweather was again in the ring last year for a exhibition bout against young Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa. In the boxing-only exhibition, Mayweather embarrassed Nasukawa, knocking him down a number of times before the fight was eventually waved off. Mayweather was paid NZ$13m for the bout, which lasted 2min12sec.