Tyson Fury to join sport's highest earners club thanks to Sauid Arabia (2024)

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As Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk come to blows in Saudi Arabia to unify the heavyweight division for the first time this century, the only certainty on Saturday night is that their earnings are set to soar.

Fury is guaranteed £81.5million from the ‘Ring Of Fire’ clash, with pay-per-view purchases expected to push his earnings beyond £100m.

The sum will see the Gypsy King rise up the Forbes ranking of the world’s highest paid athletes. The 35-year-old was placed at 42nd on the business magazine’s list for 2024 ahead of his bid to hold of all the available world titles.

Fury’s elevation will be the latest propelled by Saudi Arabia. Four of the top 10 athletes in the rankings – Karim Benzema, Neymar, Jon Rahm and Cristiano Ronaldo – principally make their money through representing teams or events backed by the Kingdom.

The Gypsy King will follow suit with only Lebron James, Lionel Messi, Rahm and Ronaldo set to surpass his earnings if he does bank £100m.

Rahm and Ronaldo, who occupy the top two positions on the list on £172m and £205m respectively, are prime examples of how the Kingdom has changed the sporting landscape.

A deal reached in December for Rahm to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf made the Spanish star the biggest mover on the list, rising from 28th place 12 months ago to second.

Ronaldo’s earnings were estimated to have nearly doubled over the past year, with the 39-year-old raking in an estimated £205m compared to £108.7m in 2023. The staggering rise was largely in part due to his reported £157m annual salary with the Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

It is arguable that boxing has seen the biggest shift as part of Saudi Arabia’s vast investment into sport, one that has come with accusations of sportswashing.

The Kingdom has become the go to destination for boxing, with the push to put on the sport’s biggest fights backed by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's general entertainment authority.

Turki, a Saudi advisor at the Royal Court, has been repeatedly been present and thanked by promoters and fighters alike at press conferences for his role in putting on the biggest fights.

His influence has been held up as key to rival promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn joining forces to co-promote shows, while the financial backing has ensured the fights fans want to see finally get made.

Turki is claimed to have been behind the idea for a '5v5' card which will see five of Hearn's Matchroom fighters go up against five of Warren's from Queensbury to settle the debate on who has the best stable.

Saturday’s fight is Fury’s second straight contest in Saudi Arabia after his showdown with UFC star turned boxer Francis Ngannou last year, where the Gypsy King was reported to have banked £65m. His brother Tommy also fought Jake Paul in Riyadh in February 2023.

Usyk has also returned to the Saudi Arabia, the scene of his second win over Anthony Joshua in 2022.The contest was one of four Joshua fights to have taken place in the nation.

The Briton has benefited significantly from the wealth Saudi Arabia has poured into the sport. Joshua was estimated to have secured a staggering £39m sum when he brutally dispatched Ngannou in March.

Fury will be the next big beneficiary, with the 35-year-old believed to have secured a 70 per cent purse split as the WBC title holder bids to take the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO belts from Usyk.

The Gypsy King is poised to join sport's highest earners club, regardless of whether he can claim the boxing's biggest prize.

NeymarLebron JamesLionel MessiOleksandr Usyk