In the realm of boxing, the roar of the crowds and the knockout punches often translate into multi-million dollar paychecks, propelling fighters into the upper echelons of wealth. Standing tall among the world’s wealthiest active boxers is the British-Nigerian heavyweight powerhouse, Anthony Joshua, commanding a staggering net worth of $80m (N80bn), making him the second-richest pugilist globally.

At 34 years old, Joshua’s meteoric ascent to the upper echelons of financial prowess parallels his ferocity within the squared circle. Renowned for his explosive punches and an impressive record of 26 victories in 29 bouts, with a staggering 23 of those triumphs ending by knockout, the Watford-born pugilist has showcased his dominance against renowned adversaries like Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian White and Charles Martin.

Surpassing a myriad of esteemed opponents, the two-time unified world heavyweight champion trails only behind Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez, the wealthiest active boxer worldwide, boasting an astronomical net worth of $180m.

Alvarez, 33 years old, has won multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of those weight classes and lineal titles in two.

The British heavyweight maestro, Tyson Fury, 35, stands tall in third place with a net worth of $65m. With 33 victories in 34 bouts, including 24 knockouts, Fury’s showdowns against Wilder and Derek Chisora have added luster to his illustrious career.

Ukrainian sensation, Oleksandr Usyk, 36, has accumulated a net worth of $50m and is fourth in the list. Renowned for his speed and ring craft, Usyk has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified heavyweight titles since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022.

Coming up in fifth place on the list is Alabama-born Deontay Wilder, 36, commanding a net worth of $30m. Wilder has fought against some of the biggest names in boxing, including Tyson Fury and Luis Ortiz. He has won 42 of his 45 fights, with 41 of those wins coming by knockout.

Wilder is known for his powerful right hand which has earned the former WBC heavyweight champion a reputation as a knockout specialist.

Rounding up the list of financial juggernauts are Gennady Golovkin from Kazakhstan in sixth place with a net worth of $30m, Sonny Bill Williams in seventh with a net worth of $25m, and former world champion Andy Ruiz Jr. in 8th place worth $10m.

Ruiz famously shocked Joshua in 2019 by stripping him of the world titles by a technical knockout at the Madison Square Garden.

The Argentine pugilist Sergio Martinez, aged 48 and the oldest on the list holds a net worth of $10m. Martinez has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified middleweight titles from 2010 to 2014.

25-year-old Ryan Garcia is the youngest boxer on this list and is also worth $10m. Garcia has fought against some of the biggest names in boxing, including Luke Campbell and Francisco Fonseca. He has won 22 of his 23 professional fights, with 18 of those wins coming by knockout.

Francis Ngannou not only managed to hang with Tyson Fury for 10 rounds but he took the heavyweight boxing champion to a razor-close split decision that many believe should have gone his way.

In the aftermath of that stunning performance, Ngannou has been flooded with potential options for what comes next including offers across both MMA and boxing. While he maintains a multi-fight deal with the PFL, Ngannou could be looking at a massive payday to stay in boxing — potentially for a lucrative rematch with Fury or possibly pursuing other fights like Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder.

PFL commentator Dan Hardy admits that he would like to see Ngannou return to his roots in MMA but then again he acknowledges that “The Predator” already sought out the toughest matchup possible in his professional boxing debut and nearly pulled off the upset.

“Tyson Fury stylistically is probably the most difficult for Ngannou to deal with,” Hardy explained on The MMA Hour. “He’s tall, he’s got great upper body movement, great defense. Then you look at somebody like Anthony Joshua or a Joe Joyce, they’re a little more upright, they don’t necessarily take a punch quite as well. They definitely don’t regroup as well as Tyson Fury does.

“I feel like he’s taken on the stiffest test and proved himself. So the door is definitely wide open for him in boxing and say you put somebody like a Deontay Wilder in there. You’ve got two of the most thunderous punchers on the planet. But again, stylistically for Ngannou, there are holes in Deontay Wilder’s game that can be exploited when he’s punching. Honestly, I think all the doors are open for him. We could be looking at someone that can hold the WBC and the PFL title at the same time.”

Joshua’s longtime promoter Eddie Hearn already started pushing for an eventual showdown against Ngannou while touting that the 2012 Olympic gold medalist in boxing would dispatch the ex-UFC champion in devastating fashion.

Hardy disagrees, especially given Joshua’s perceived weaknesses — most notably his struggles dealing with adversity when he’s not leading in a fight.

“I think honestly Anthony Joshua’s probably one of the better matchups for Ngannou out of all the heavyweights,” Hardy said. “I like the Joe Joyce idea because he boxes with a — I don’t mean amateurish — I mean an amateur technical style where he places his shots but his head’s very much on the center line. He doesn’t move it a lot.

“The thing is with Anthony Joshua, I don’t know if he can regroup if he hits the canvas, especially against an 0-1 boxer that’s still early in his career. I feel like it would unravel much quicker.”

While Fury survived a third-round knockout against Ngannou in their fight, Hardy could definitely see Joshua getting clipped with a similar punch and not getting up again.

“For me, Anthony Joshua, that’s a much, much better matchup for Ngannou,” Hardy said. “I could see Ngannou putting him away.”

As enticing as those boxing matches might be, Hardy still prefers to see Ngannou’s next fight happen in the PFL with hopes that could get booked in early 2024.

“I would like to see him back in MMA,” Hardy said. “I would like to see him hopefully headline the PFL pay-per-view event that’s coming up in the new year, maybe the first half of next year get him an MMA fight and then see where he’s at in the rankings and see kind of where the heavyweight division is at and if anybody makes sense. I feel there are some really good fights for Ngannou.”

Anthony Joshua has been warned by a fierce rival that a fight against Deontay Wilder would be ‘signing his life and career away.’

Joshua and Wilder have been linked to a fight since both became heavyweight champions over 6 years ago. At one stage the two heavy hitters controlled all the belts in the division and were in talks for an undisputed clash, but negotiations failed and now both have lost their titles.

Tyson Fury took Wilder’s WBC belt after winning two of their three fights. ‘AJ’ lost his WBA, IBF and WBO titles to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and failed to regain them the following year in their rematch.

One man who doesn’t think Joshua should go anywhere near Wilder is brash American Jarrell Miller.

Miller has had a fierce rivalry with the former two-time champion ever since they were scheduled to face each other back in 2019. ‘Big Baby’ was pulled from the fight after testing positive for several banned substances in the lead up and was replaced by Andy Ruiz Jr.