Who has made the most money in boxing?

Terence Crawford and Gervonta Davis have both had great careers as fighters, but who has made the most money in their boxing careers?

What sparked this question? The two world champions are engaged in a nasty war of words at X, and the source of their beef is multi-layered.

Terence Crawford and Gervonta Davis have been publicly rumored

Davis appeared on social media as he profanely insulted Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi ruler he bought Ring magazine and has been the driving force behind several major boxing events over the past couple of years and the fighters who participated in the event.

Davis has since deleted most of the posts, but he was apparently frustrated that he wasn’t invited to Ring magazine awards show in London.

Crawford, who was there and was apparently negotiating a mega-fight with Canelo Alvarez, hit Davis on an X post.

Davis responded with a series of strong accusations and harsh words, including some off-limits insults to Crawford’s wife in a now-deleted post.

The two went back and forth about who has done more in their careers.

Who has earned more money in their careers: Terence Crawford or Gervonta Davis?

The short answer to this question is: only a handful of people know, and none of them would give you a straight answer. PPV network executives, promoters and managers know the real answer.

While the final answer is not publicly available, there are facts, opinions and perspectives to consider.

ESPN’s Mike Coppinger insists that Crawford has done more in his career, largely on the strength of his pay-per-view fight with Errol Spence Jr. in 2023 and his fight against Israil Madrimov in August 2024.

Davis has had one massive PPV event, and that was his impressive TKO victory over Ryan Garcia in April 2023.

That said, Davis is arguably one of the biggest draws in the sport, and his pay-per-view numbers are significantly higher than Crawford’s.

Terence Crawford’s PPV Sales:

Gervonta Davis PPV Sales:

Davis’ manager/advisor, Leonard Ellerbe, came in targeting Coppinger.

You could argue that Crawford is more respected as a fighter among his peers, but Davis is more popular — which may be a more direct barometer of earning potential and financial success.

The uninitiated will look at the purse totals, but any professional manager, promoter, fighter, trainer, journalist or knowledgeable fan will tell you that the totals are only part of the money story for a fighter.

The real money for fighters has traditionally been made through their ability to sell pay-per-views—if they rise to that level.

Alalshikh has been able to change this model by offering more guaranteed money to fighters who work with him, which is separate from PPV sales.

Ellerbe insisted that Davis makes “eight figures” per fight, which sounds reasonable based on Tank’s drawing power, but it hasn’t always been the case for the lightweight champion. When did it reach that level?

This is an important part if we are to determine who wins this almost embarrassing argument.

The undefeated Crawford, who is 37, has been a pro since 2008 and a world champion since 2014. Davis, 30, has been a pro since 2013. He won his first world title in 2017.

Based on active years, it’s clear that Crawford has performed at a championship level longer than Davis. Championship fights and main event spots generally produce bigger payouts. Attitude-wise, Crawford may have an advantage.

That said, Davis’ popularity is undeniable, evidenced by his 7.5 million followers on Instagram (where he only has two live posts) and 778k followers on X.

By comparison, Crawford, who is much more active on IG and has been popular for a long time, only has 1.8 million followers. In X, it has 468K.

While these numbers aren’t the only obvious factor when determining earning potential, the world of entertainment has placed an ever-higher value on social media reach — hence influencer growth.

Due to Davis’ meteoric rise in popularity, he’s likely averaged more money per fight than Crawford thus far, but that’s likely to change with Alalshikh in the mix.

The state’s other promoters simply can’t compete with the money it guarantees fighters to take part in the fights most fans want to see. Crawford’s reported $10 million payday for the Madrimov fight will be dwarfed by what Budi will receive if the Canelo fight happens – as it appears it will.

Meanwhile, Davis is headed for a fight in March that he must hold and promote himself. With all due respect to Lamont Roach Jr., a legitimate world champion, he doesn’t have the name or the following to help bring Davis a PPV audience that could increase his income in Crawford’s new neighborhood.

If Davis is going to keep earning big paydays, he needs to fight guys like Vasily Lomachenko, Shakur Stevenson, maybe Keyshawn Davis — if he keeps winning — and others.

If not, and he stays outside Alalshikh’s growing network of fighters, it may be difficult for him to find compelling battles that pay big.