Ali, Leonard, Mayweather and more - 5 fights when boxing broke the bank

Nine-figure purses and pay-per-view revenues to match have already been projected for Floyd Mayweather’s fight with mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor in Las Vegas in August.

Here Yahoo Sport picks out five more seminal moments in boxing’s financial history.

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1. JACK JOHNSON v JIM JEFFERIES, 1910

Jefferies came out of retirement to challenge Johnson in the so-called ‘Fight of the Century’ as white America sought desperately to find a way to dethrone the controversial champion. Johnson was tempted by a purse in excess of $100,000 – two thirds of which was promised to the winner. In front of 20,000 people in Reno, Johnson duly took the spoils.

2. GENE TUNNEY v JACK DEMPSEY, 1927

Tunney all but earned boxing’s first million-dollar purse for his world heavyweight title rematch with Dempsey in 1927. Tunney’s actual purse was$990,445, but he paid promoter Tex Rickard the difference in order to receive a cheque for$1million. Tunney won the much-hyped contest which will go down in history as ‘The Battle of the Long Count’ after Tunney survived an extended seventh round knockdown.

3. MUHAMMAD ALI v GEORGE FOREMAN, 1974

Ali and Foreman split a total purse of$10million for what is arguably the most famous boxing match of all time – a relative pittance by today’s astronomical standards. Promoter Don King made the promise to bring the pair together, then was forced to head to the heart of Africa to discover a regime obsessive and dictatorial enough to stump up the cash. The Rumble in the Jungle was born.

4. SUGAR RAY LEONARD v THOMAS HEARNS, 1981

Leonard was no stranger to multi-million dollar purses after two epic battles with Roberto Duran. But the$10million he was to be paid for his world welterweight title scrap with Thomas Hearns set a new record for dollars earned in a single sporting event. Hearns also earned over$5million for a contest which shattered the notion that only the sport’s heavyweight division could command such fees.

5. FLOYD MAYWEATHER v MANNY PACQUIAO, 2015

Mayweather and Pacquiao both grossed nine-figure purses for the first time despite their anti-climactic meeting in Las Vegas in 2015. The richest bout in boxing history earned a total of around $600million in total revenue, almost two thirds of which was made up by record pay-per-view buys. The new mark shattered the estimated USD150million generated by Mayweather’s previous fight against Saul Alvarez.