Floyd Mayweather Pips Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi to be Crowned Sports Biggest Earner

Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather has topped Forbes' highest paid athletes list after he managed to rake in $105m in the past 12 months.

The five-division world champion becomes only the second athlete to break the $100m in one year.

It is believed that 'Money' Mayweather earned around $25m per fight for his last nine outings stretching back to 2007.

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was the second highest earner, but some $25m shy of Mayweather; the Portuguese winger earned $80m in the last year. Around $28m of this, according to Forbes, comes from some of the serial record breaker's many endorsements which includes the likes of Nike and Samsung.

The current world player of the year has had a stellar 12 months after winning the Champions league with his club team and being crowned with the Ballon D'or.

Basketball supreme LeBron James takes third place after bringing in $72.3m, just ahead of Ronaldo's biggest rival and threat to his current Ballon D'or title - Lionel Messi.

The Argentine whizz mustered up a healthy $64.7m, which included a salary of $41.7m from his club side, Barcelona.

Kobe Bryant, the LA Lakers Basketball legend who is now in the twilight of his career, still brought in $61.5m, slightly ahead of Tiger Woods.

The Golfing giant, who is the only other athlete to have brought in more than $100m in one year, earned a more 'modest' $61.2m. Wood's form on the golf course hasn't been great: only a tenth of his annual takings comes from prize money, with the rest in the form of sponsorships and endorsements.

Ronaldo's team mate Gareth Bale and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton are the only Brits that have managed to break into top 20 of a list dominated by Americans; earning $36.4m and $32m respectively.

Manchester United and England Captain Wayne Rooney makes number 43 in the compilation having earned $23.4m, while his international team mate and Liverpool stalwart Steven Gerrard sits in the lower end of the top 100, having earned $18.7m in 86th place.