It worked. They sold 4.3m PPVs and made nine-figure paydays

Ultimately, the five-weight boxing champion picked up a tenth-round stoppage win to improve his perfect record to 50-0 before retiring – but both men walked away as winners.

‘Notorious’ made £76million [$100m] for his boxing debut, while Mayweather is believed to have been paid £213m [$280m] after selling a whopping 4.3 million pay-per-views.

Six years later, boxing is flooded with bizarre match-ups, social media stars, and fighters who are simply desperate to replicate the success Mayweather and McGregor enjoyed together.

Tyson Fury will try to capture public attention in a similar way when he takes on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 28.

The WBC titleholder opted to face MMA’s best big man rather than wait for a historic undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk who holds three of the four major heavyweight boxing belts.

Much has been made about how much Fury and Ngannou will earn for their crossover fight and, while it’s not quite Mayweather vs McGregor, both men are likely to walk away with eight-figure paydays.

‘The Predator’ famously rejected £6.1m [$8m] per-fight offer to stay with the UFC earlier this year but is now set to make so much money he’ll have trouble getting it to the bank, according to his manager.

“The bag is so big, he may just drop it on the way to the bank, let’s just say that,” Marquel Martin told MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.

Fury has held the WBC heavyweight belt since 2020Credit: Getty

Ngannou his a former UFC championCredit: GETTY

“I don’t know what the haters are trying to say right now, but they’ll be proven wrong again, this is life-changing.

“This is exactly what we planned and visualised, so we’re happy.”

Martin was asked whether Ngannou would be earning more than he did in all 14 of his UFC fights combined, and he replied: “Oh my god, by far, by multiples.”

Fury also insisted his next opponent will be paid handsomely but refused to provide a specific number when probed during a recent interview.

‘Gypsy King’ makes ten of millions every time he fightsCredit: Getty

Ngannou made just £440,000 in his final UFC fightCredit: GETTY

“[The purse is] private information, but let’s say it’s 10, 20, 30, f*****g 50 times the amount [Ngannou made in the UFC],” he said on the Out of Interest podcast.

In Ngannou’s final fight with the organisation he took home £440,000. A few months later, Fury knocked out Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium and pocketed £26.2 million.

However, much less has been revealed about how much the Englishman will make for his first fight in the Middle East.

In May, talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan revealed he’d heard rumours that Fury would make £90 million for an undisputed clash with Usyk.

Usyk holds three of the four major heavyweight belts and wants to fight FuryCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom

8’The Predator’ will return to MMA with PFL in 2024Credit: PFL

That fight was supposed to top a heavyweight mega-event in Saudi Arabia that would also see Anthony Joshua face off against Deontay Wilder.

In 2021, ESPN reported Fury and Joshua would make £57 million [$75m] each after they’d agreed to fight each other in the country, however, that fight was scuppered by Wilder’s rematch clause.

After making an exorbitant amount of money together, Fury and Ngannou are expected to return to professional fights in their chosen sports.

‘The Predator’ has already signed a contract to join PFL, a UFC rival, and he’s stated his intention to fight for the MMA promotion in 2024.

It’s still hoped Fury will face Usyk in a historic four-belt undisputed scrap.

Despite previous failed negotiations, the fight is still in high demand and both men could make obscene amounts of money while getting the chance to cement themselves as the best heavyweight on boxing.