Floyd Mayweather expected to reach $1bn in career earnings following Conor McGregor fight

Floyd Mayweather's nickname of "Money" remains apt as ever as the former five-weight champion's career earnings are expected to cross $1bn (£0.76bn) following his fight with Conor McGregor on 26 August.

Mayweather's current career earnings, which include endorsement deals, are projected at more than $750m (£573.5m), according to MMAJunkie which trumps any other combat fighter on the planet.

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe expects the 40-year-old to cross the 10-figure mark and join the likes of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods as the only sportsmen to boast career earnings of over a billion dollars.

"I think after this fight, he'll be one of three athletes along with Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods to go over a billion dollars," Ellerbe told MMAjunkie. "I don't think he's done too bad in his career."

While the exact amount of money Mayweather will earn from "The Money Fight" will not be known until after 26 August, both fighters are expected to come away with nine-figure payouts.

McGregor, who recently broke into the Forbes top 25 highest paid athletes list, notably claimed that he would be earning over $100m (£76.5m) from the bout if his endorsements and business ventures were taken into account.

With Mayweather expected to earn more than the Irishman, along with his promotion sponsoring the fight, reaching the billion dollar mark is definitely not far-fetched.

The duo recently concluded a four-city world tour of press conferences that saw a full house in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and London.

Going by the attendance in the conferences alone as well as the media coverage, it's fair to say that this is in fact the biggest fight in combat sports, which is likely to guarantee a huge payday for all involved.

"This fight is gigantic," Ellerbe added. "It's massive. The fans across the world, this is exactly what they want to see and it's what they're going to get come Aug 26."