Floyd Mayweather announced himself with a phenomenal KO in his professional debut, to mark the start of a lucrative career.

Mayweather had a sensational amateur career and became one of the brightest prospects in world boxing, which saw him win bronze at the 1996 US Olympic Games.

Mayweather beat Apadaca on his professional debutGetty

He decided to turn professional later that year signing a deal with Bob Arum‘s Top Rank, and he took on fellow debutant Roberto Apadaca in Las Vegas.

The talented operator had already earned rave reviews and many expected him to have a bright future, but his first-ever outing showed exactly why he was special.

Mayweather burst out of the traps to impress the crowd, showing slick movement and elite technique right from the off.

With half of the round gone, he had his rival retreating into the corner on the back of relentless pressure and landed a booming left hook to the body.

Apadaca took a knee clearly winded by the thunderous blow but was able to recover and survive until the end of the round.

Unfortunately for the Mexican, things turned for the worse as he found himself clinging on again in the second period.

Mayweather found his second and final breakthrough, and landed another crunching shot on the same target which this time sent Apadaca planting forward to the canvas.

He lay in agony holding his rib cage, as the referee gave him a brief moment to recover but decided to halt the contest as he didn’t move.

The debutant writhed in pain on the floor for a minute or two before being helped back to his stool after recovering from the damaging body shot.

It was a real statement victory for Mayweather who celebrated in his corner, earning $2,500 for under six minutes work, but it wasn’t a sign of what was to come.

ESPNMayweather detonated some big left hands on his rival[/caption]

ESPNApadaca was left in a heap on the floor[/caption]

He became known as the ‘Money Man’ during his career, and his opening payday was dwarfed by the final one of his time as a professional.

To complete his 50-0 record, ‘TBE’ took on UFC superstar Conor McGregor in a crossover fight in 2017, 21 years on.

He pocketed a mammoth total purse he claimed of $350 million, with the event selling the second most pay-per-view units in boxing history.

And that was only second in pay-per-view sales to his titanic tussle with famous rival Manny Pacquiao two years earlier, which saw him pocket in excess of $150 million in another sizeable purse.

It was a far cry from his early stages, with his opening outing seeing him pocket 1,200 times less than in his final bow with McGregor.

The latter years of his career saw him create generational wealth for himself, and cement his legacy as one of boxing’s greatest of all-time.

Mayweather has always lived a lavish lifestyle having generated huge earnings from his supreme sweet science skillset, which are believed to be over $1.2 billion in total.

The American made an investment early on in his career to leave Top Rank’s fixed contract and negotiate his own contracts, which despite earning big anyway, changed his life forever.

He gambled and paid $750,000 to break his contract in 2006, and he went on to earn the majority of his wealth in the ten years that followed.

Mayweather pocketed a huge purse to fight McGregor in 2017Getty

The iconic star went on to fight and beat the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya, dismantling some of the best of his era with some world class craftsmanship.

His earnings have continued to pour in despite hanging up his gloves after beating McGregor, with lucrative exhibitions providing huge income.

The veteran has fought the likes of Logan Paul and Deji in money-spinning risk-free bouts, and has never needed to come out of first gear.

Investments outside of the ring have also continued to pay dividends, with Mayweather’s properties and luxury items also seeing him gain cash.