Introduction

Lennox Lewis is an American former professional boxer with an estimated net worth of $140 Million.

This profile covers our extensive research into Lennox Lewis’ net worth, fight purses, and other aspects of his finances.

Quick Facts

• Single highest payday of $34 million from the Mike Tyson fight
• Total fight purses of at least $108.4 million during his career
• Earned a combined $25 million from his two bouts with Evander Holyfield
• Vince McMahon, the head of World Wrestling Entertainment, reportedly offered Lewis £5 million in 2002 to enter the professional wrestling business.

Fight Earnings

Lennox earned hundreds of millions of dollars throughout his career, primarily through guaranteed purses and, more significantly, PPV bonuses. Although his earnings are not as high as those of Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, or even the legendary George Foreman, he still ranks among the greatest fighters of all time. The fights listed in the table above account for $108.4 million of Lewis’ total earnings, but they don’t include every one of his fights.

In 1993, Lennox Lewis received a fight purse of $8 million for his bout with Frank Bruno. Two years later, for his 1995 fight against Tommy Morrison, he earned $2.4 million. In 1997, Lewis earned a combined $5 million from two bouts. The first was against Henry Akinwande, in which Lennox received at least $1 million; however, the actual amount may be higher. The second bout was against Andrew Golota, reportedly earning Lewis $4 million. 

Evander Holyfield Fight Earnings

In 1999, Lennox Lewis fought Evander Holyfield twice in the same year, earning the most considerable sums of his career. For their first bout, Lewis reportedly earned $10 million, while Holyfield earned double that amount, at $20 million. According to reports, both fighters earned $15 million each for the second bout, bringing Lennox’s total earnings to $25 million across both fights.

2000s Fight Purses

By the 2000s, Lennox Lewis was earning high seven-figure paychecks per fight. This includes his $7.5 million purse for his fight against Michael Grant and $8.5 million for his fight against David Tua, both of which took place in the first year of the decade. A year later, he received a purse of $11 million for his rematch against Hasim Rahman. Unfortunately, earnings for the duo’s first bout were never publicly disclosed. Before we discuss his earnings from his Tyson fight, let’s also quickly mention his $7 million purse for fighting Vitali Klitschko in 2003.

Mike Tyson Fight Earnings

Lewis’ fight with Mike Tyson in 2002 was the most lucrative bout of his career. The event sold 1.95 million PPV buys, grossing $106.9 million. Based on reports, 45% of this revenue ($48.1 million) was allocated to cable and satellite operators. The rest was shared between the two fighters, promoters, and networks. Both Lewis and Tyson were guaranteed $17.5 million upfront, and once PPV shares were considered, Lewis earned an estimated $34 million in total.

Some sources suggest he earned up to $50 million, but we believe they didn’t account for the promoters’ and networks’ shares of the PPV revenues. Finally, just because it’s worth mentioning, Tyson was fined $335,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for biting Lewis’ leg in the press conference… in classic Mike Tyson fashion.

WWE Offer

In 2002, Lennox Lewis was approached by Vince McMahon with an offer to wrestle Brock Lesnar. This matchup would have taken place at the 2003 WWE No Way Out event, and paid Lewis £5 million ($7.8 million).

Interestingly, the organization wanted him to wear boxing gloves during the match. Just him, not Lesnar. This would have obviously been for marketing and entertainment purposes, but Lewis didn’t like the idea. He said that it could have presented a safety risk, and ultimately rejected the offer.

How Does Lennox Lewis Spend His Money?

As you can imagine, as one of the world’s richest heavyweight boxers, Lennox Lewis has bought properties in America, Canada, and the UK. He owns more than seven luxury vehicles in his garage and has earned around $20 million over the last ten years as a boxing commentator.

Introduction

Mike Tyson is an American former professional boxer with an estimated net worth of $30 Million.

In this profile, we’ll discuss our extensive research into Mike Tyson’s net worth history, fight purses, and additional income sources. More importantly, we’ll review the extensive financial issues he faced, including extravagant spending and ultimately filing for bankruptcy.

Quick Facts

• Lifetime fight purses totaling at least $445 million
• Earned approximately $60 million from his two bouts with Evander Holyfield
• Spent $18 million in just three years after being released from prison
• Once spent $2 million on a golden bathtub for his wife
• Filed for bankruptcy in 2003

Net Worth History

Mike Tyson’s net worth was once estimated at as much as $300 million at the peak of his career, having earned well over $400 million from fights alone. However, he also spent it like water. We’ll discuss some of his most extravagant expenses later in the article, but they ultimately led to Tyson filing for bankruptcy in 2003.

Mike’s net worth dropped from $300 million to an estimated $3 million in the 2010s. Despite this, he’s made a comeback in recent years, earning not just from his two fights with Roy Jones Jr. and Jake Paul, but also through the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast. The two fights earned him an estimated $30 million. Although he donated his $10 million purse from the Jones fight to charity, the $20 million purse from the Paul fight helped Tyson recoup some of his net worth. Prior to the Jake Paul fight, Tyson was worth an estimated $10 million. As of 2025, Mike Tyson’s net worth is estimated to be approximately $30 Million.

Fight Earnings

Throughout Mike Tyson’s professional boxing career, he secured at least $445 million in fight earnings. He fought a total of 57 times, accumulating a substantial amount of money in the process. While the table above shows his fight purses for 36 of those fights, many of his earnings between 1985 and 1986 aren’t included. It’s assumed that for 1986 at least, he earned roughly $200,000 per fight. This is because his earnings for three fights that year, against Jesse Ferguson and Mitch Green (twice), were all reportedly $200,000 per fight. Towards the end of the year, he earned $1.5 million for his fight against Trevor Berbick, which was shown on ESPN. 

In 1987, Tyson fought four times, earning a combined $9.5 million. These bouts were covered under his eight-fight, $27 million contract with HBO. This included $2 million against James Smith, and $2.5 million apiece for his bouts against Pinklon Smith, Tony Tucker, and Tyrell Biggs.

Tyson’s earnings began increasing significantly in 1998, starting with his $5 million purse for his fight against Larry Holmes. He then earned $10 million against Tony Tubbs and an impressive $20 million against Michael Spinks.

Bruno, Holyfield & Ruddick Fight Purses

We grouped these three opponents together because they were the only three that Tyson fought twice. They account for $114 million of Mike’s career earnings.

Frank Bruno – $38 million

When Iron Mike first fought Frank Bruno in 1989, he earned approximately $8 million. For their 1996 rematch, he earned a whopping $30 million, bringing his total to a combined $38 million.

Donovan Ruddick – $16 million

In 1991, Tyson fought Donovan Ruddick, earning $6 million. Two years later, he earned an increased purse of $10 million, bringing the total to $16 million for the two bouts.

Evander Holyfield – $60 million

The fights against Evander Holyfield were the most controversial of his career, primarily due to Tyson biting Holyfield’s ear in the second bout. For each fight, Mike received a $30 million purse, totaling $60 million.

Significant Fight Purses

We’ve covered Tyson’s early career fight purses and his earnings from recurring opponents, so let’s take a look at the largest paydays of his career. In 1995, Tyson secured $25 million in his fight against Peter McNeeley and a $10 million purse against Buster Mathis. The following year, he earned an impressive $30 million for his win against Bruce Seldon.

Between 1999 and 2000, Mike received a combined $47 million from five fights, including three $10 million paydays against Francois Botha, Julius Francis, and Andrzej Golota. The remainder was generated by a $9 million purse against Orlin Norris and an $8 million purse against Lou Savarese.

However, none of these compares to his 2002 fight against Lennox Lewis. The fight was one of the highest-grossing events at the time, generating $106.9 million in PPV revenue. Tyson secured a guaranteed $17.5 million purse, but he also received additional income from PPV shares and sponsorships, which skyrocketed his total earnings to an estimated $103 million.

Extravagant Expenditure

Throughout his professional career, Tyson spent his wealth with ease, which led to significant financial hardships in the early 2000s. This included spending millions on luxury cars and mansions, as most athletes do. According to the bankruptcy filing, in just three years after his release from prison, he spent a reported $4.5 million on 19 vehicles that he purchased for his friends.

In that same period, he also spent millions on the following:

• Pigeons & tigers – $400,000
• Garden maintenance & lawn care – $300,000
• Phones, pagers, and related monthly bills – $230,000
• Animal trainer – $125,000/year
• Jewelry & Clothes – $100,000/month
• Random everyday purchases – $240,000/month

This, including the $4.5 million for vehicles, would amount to a total of just over $18 million over three years, but that’s only for the expenses listed in the filing.

Random Expenses

Beyond his typical expenses for gardening, animals, fashion, and vehicles, Tyson made several notable purchases totaling more than $100,000. He reportedly once spent $2 million on a golden bathtub for his then-wife, Robin Givens, but some sources suggest the actual amount was closer to $500,000. Tyson also spent $400,000 on a single birthday party, and his Bengal tigers cost $70,000 each.

Car Collection

While you may think $4.5 million for 19 vehicles is a lot of money, Tyson reportedly purchased over 100 cars throughout his life, including numerous Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, and Rolls-Royces. He once spent $1.5 million in a single day to purchase five Bentley Azures. Here’s a list of some of the vehicles Mike Tyson owned, and their respective MSRPs at the time:

Introduction

Oscar De La Hoya is an American former professional boxer with an estimated net worth of $200 Million.

This profile examines our research into Oscar De La Hoya’s net worth, fight purses, business ventures, and other aspects of his finances.

Quick Facts

• Earned an estimated $52 million from his fight with Floyd Mayweather
• Founded Golden Boy Promotions in 2002
• Faced a $62.5 million palimony lawsuit from his ex-fiancée

Fight Earnings

Over the course of his career, Oscar De La Hoya has earned considerable sums from fight purses, endorsements, and other business ventures. His record-breaking fight fees have helped make him one of the richest boxers in the world, and his earnings have remained high since his retirement.

Early Career Fight Purses

When De La Hoya fought the first PPV headliner event of his career against Rafael Ruelas in 1995, he received a $1 million purse. A year later, he earned an impressive $9 million for his first win over Julia Cesar Chavez, and an additional $12 million in their 1998 rematch. For comparison, Chavez earned $6 million in the second bout.

Backtracking to 1997, De La Hoya earned a combined $19 million from his fights with Pernell Whitaker and Hector Camacho, split at $10 million and $9 million, respectively. Whitaker earned $6 million, while Camacho earned just $3 million. To end the decade, De La Hoya earned a career-high $21 million for his loss to Felix Trinidad.

Peak Career Fight Earnings

In the 2000s, De La Hoya began earning a bare minimum of $15 million per fight, including for his 2000 bout against Shane Mosley and his 2002 fight against Fernando Vargas. In 2004, he earned a combined $60 million, including $30 million from his loss to Bernard Hopkins and $30 million from his win over Felix Sturm.

When De La Hoya fought Floyd Mayweather in 2007, he earned the single highest purse of his career, taking home approximately $52 million. The event became the highest-grossing in boxing history, recording $165 million in gross revenue. For comparison, Floyd earned an estimated $25 million from the bout.

In 2008, Oscar received a combined $40 million, primarily generated through his fight with Manny Pacquiao, which earned him $35 million.

Golden Boy Promotions

Outside of boxing, De La Hoya has invested in many business ventures, including a clothing line and appearances in several video games. However, his most noteworthy venture is Golden Boy Promotions, the boxing promotion company that Oscar founded in 2002. In its early years, GBP promoted several of De La Hoya’s fights, including the 2006 fight against Floyd Mayweather and the 2008 fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Financial details about Golden Boy Promotions are somewhat private; however, in 2023, Forbes estimated the company generated $70 million in gross revenue. The same report estimated GBP’s valuation at approximately $450 million, making it the world’s 9th-most-valuable sports promotion company. That said, these are only estimates and not confirmed figures.

Palimony Lawsuit

In 1997, Oscar De La Hoya began dating the American actress Shanna Moakler. Their relationship progressed rather quickly: within a year, the couple was engaged, and a year after that, gave birth to their daughter Atiana. Despite this, in September 2000, Moakler ultimately called off the engagement, claiming that De La Hoya cheated on her. 

Just three months later, she filed a $62.5 million palimony lawsuit against De La Hoya, claiming he had promised her financial support and a share of the assets accumulated during their relationship. The latter statement is rather important, considering that in just a three-year relationship, Oscar had earned at least $67 million in fight purses. That’s just fight purses, and doesn’t account for additional income from brand endorsements, etc.

According to the filing, Moakler sought at least $62.5 million in damages, plus temporary support payments of $350,000 per month. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

More Professional Boxers:

• Carl Froch
• Buster Douglas
• Badou Jack
• Manny Pacquiao

Summary 

So there you have it – our comprehensive guide to the boxing career and business ventures that helped boxer Oscar De La Hoya achieve his impressive net worth. Although he no longer fights professionally, his career as a media personality, combined with his entrepreneurial endeavors, continues to generate a substantial income.