Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Floyd Mayweather is coming out of retirement and will return to professional boxing after his exhibition fight with Mike Tyson this spring, the 48-year-old announced Friday. Former multi-weight world champion Mayweather retired from boxing in 2017, unbeaten in 50 bouts, though he has appeared in several exhibition fights since.
“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said in a statement to AFP. “From my upcoming Mike Tyson event to my next professional fight afterwards — no one will generate a bigger gate, have a larger global broadcast audience and generate more money with each event than (sic) my events.” A first professional fight is tentatively scheduled for this summer, against an opponent to be announced. Details will be revealed “in the coming weeks,” said the statement.
Related news
Nicknamed “Money,” Mayweather was once the world’s highest-paid athlete, with earnings of $300 million in 2015, according to Forbes. At his peak, he was widely considered boxing’s pound-for-pound king, dominating the welterweight division for more than a decade. Despite his success, Mayweather has long been a controversial figure. He was often criticized for an overly defensive style and accused by some of dodging the most dangerous opponents simply to embellish his record. Mayweather has also spent time in prison for one of a string of domestic violence incidents.
But his supreme fitness, work ethic, athleticism, and boxing brain earned him the respect of his peers in the ring. Mayweather’s last professional bout was in 2017 against UFC star Conor McGregor. He has continued to appear in exhibitions, including a victory over John Gotti III in Mexico in August 2024, as well as bouts with reality television stars and YouTube fighters.
Mayweather has signed an exclusive agreement with promoter CSI Sports/Fight Sports, to begin following his Tyson bout. Boxing outlet Ring Magazine recently reported that Mayweather’s exhibition fight with Tyson will take place on April 25th in the Congo, though neither date nor location has been officially confirmed.
“Iron Mike” Tyson, 59, last appeared in the ring in a lopsided loss to YouTuber-turned prizefighter Jake Paul in November 2024 in Texas. Tyson barely landed a punch in that Netflix-backed bout, which was watched by a live crowd of around 70,000 spectators, with an estimated millions more tuning in around the world.
© 2024 AFP
