By Frank Livingstone: ESPN Magazine has recently came out with the list of the highest paid athlete in each sport in 2010 and rated Manny Pacquiao and Alex Rodriguez, professional baseball player, as the highest paid athlete.

It looks at 30 different sports and lists the highest paid athlete in each sport. Pacquiao and Rodriguez both earned a staggering $32 million dollars in 2010 which came from their direct earnings and from the individual salary or contracts. The amount did not include endorsement money and sponsorships.

The $32 million earnings came from his two bouts with Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito in 2010. It is amazing that his income was above the $24.8 million dollars that NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant, earned in 2010.

It is truly a rags to riches story for Manny Pacquiao who dropped out of high school due to extreme poverty and started his boxing career so he can support his poor family. His upcoming fight with Sugar Shane Mosley on May 7 will reportedly earn him a guaranteed $15 million dollars plus his share in the Pay Per view numbers. The Pacquiao/Mosley bout which is to be held at MGM was sold out more than three weeks before the actual fight. This is incredible considering the Mayweather/Mosley fight last year had more than 1,000 seats vacant at fight night at the same venue. This is despite the boxing experts’ view that the fight is a mismatch in Pacquiao’s favour.

Whatever the boxing experts say, whenever Manny Pacquiao fights you could rest assured the number one pound for pound will give his best and entertain his boxing fans at fight night. So the $32 million dollar question is, Will Manny have his day with Floyd Mayweather Jr inside the ring or can Pacquiao extend his success this year and be the best paid athlete in 2011.