Forbes magazine's new list has confirmed that American boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr who is currently languishing in jail and serving a three-month sentence in Las Vegas for domestic battery is at the head of their latest top 100, with earnings of £54.4 million for his two fights in the last 12 months.

Mayweather's arch-rival Manny Pacquiao is second on the list with £39.7m, despite losing his WBO welterweight title in a controversial decision against Timothy Bradley a few weeks ago.

Tiger Woods has slipped to third with £38m, his struggles on and off the golf course finally seeing him lose the top spot that he had held since 2001.

Basketball's LeBron James (£33.9m) and tennis's Roger Federer (£33.7m) round out the top five.

The best-paid footballer on the list is David Beckham of the LA Galaxy. Beckham's on-pitch earnings may have been superseded by the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but his off-pitch endorsements still put him in at number eight with £29.4m.

Ronaldo is just behind in ninth with £27.2m, while Messi is 11th with £24.9m.

Maria Sharapova was one of only two women in the top 100, the world number one ranked 26th with £17.8m off the back of a stunning year on court, and lucrative deals with the likes of Nike, Head, Samsung, Tag Heuer and Evian off it.

Fernando Alonso at 19th is the top earner in Formula One on £20.5m, with MotoGP's Valentino Rossi right behind him in 20th with £19.2m.

India captain MS Dhoni is the top-ranked cricketer at number 31 with £14.7m, while Usain Bolt is down at number 63 with £13m.

You can see the full list at the Forbes website.


Top 10:

1. Floyd Mayweather £54.4m

2. Manny Pacquiao £39.7m

3. Tiger Woods £38m

4. LeBron James £33.9m

5. Roger Federer £33.7m

6. Kobe Bryant £33.5m

7. Phil Mickelson £30.6m

8. David Beckham £29.4m

9. Cristiano Ronaldo £27.2m

10. Peyton Manning £27.1m