STYAL boxer Tyson Fury has been named as the highest-ranked Brit on Forbes' list of the best-paid athletes in world sport in 2020.

The list takes into account combined earnings from prize money, salaries and endorsements, with Fury coming in at 11th place overall after amassing £46.2m.

The figure, which includes an estimated £30 million earned from his epic world title rematch against rival Deontay Wilder in February, is a world away from the humble start to the boxer’s working life, which saw him collecting scrap metal around local estates.

As is tradition within Traveller families, Fury left school around the age of 10 to start work.

Reflecting on the period in his autobiography entitled Behind the Mask, he said: “There is a big world out there and if you want some money, then you need to go out and earn it.

“This meant doing all kinds of jobs, like brushing snow away from driveways for a few quid and eventually, when I was about 13, going out to collect scrap.

“My brother Shane, my cousin Justin and I would go around the local estates and collect anything that people were throwing out.

“We’d spend all day at that and then take it to the scrap yard that night and maybe end up with 40 or 50 quid.”

Fury’s other past jobs include hauling bricks and shovelling stones for £80 a day, and learning the art of making and losing money with his dad buying and selling cars.

As a teenager, he would pick up used cars at auction, give them a paint and polish and sell them on for profit, making hundreds of pounds in the process.

In his autobiography, Fury adds: “It was a good, valuable lesson. It taught me to save and appreciate what I earned.”

Roger Federer became the first tennis player to top Forbes' list, raking in earnings of £86.2 million thanks to an extensive portfolio of investments on top of his on-court earnings.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi came second and third, earning £85 million and £84 million respectively.

The closest other Brit to Fury was six-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, who was ranked 13th on the list with earnings of £43.7 million.

Forbes says that the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world collectively raked in £2.95 billion over the past year, nine per cent down on the figure from the 2019 rich list due to the postponement or cancellation of events because of coronavirus.