Floyd Mayweather plans to end boxing retirement after Mike Tyson exhibition

Floyd Mayweather is coming out of retirement. Mayweather announced that he will compete professionally in boxing after an exhibition fight with Mike Tyson in the spring.

Mayweather will end his professional boxing retirement nine years after riding off into the sunset with a perfect 50-0 record. On Friday, Mayweather announced his plans to box professionally again after a planned exhibition bout with legendary heavyweight champion Tyson. Mayweather signed an exclusive deal with CSI Sports/FIGHT SPORTS for his upcoming exhibition and professional fights.

“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said in a press release. “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 my events.”

CSI Sports said they’d reveal details about event dates, broadcast information and the professional opponent for Mayweather’s sanctioned return in the coming weeks. 

Last year, Mayweather and Tyson confirmed plans for an exhibition fight between them. The Ring recently reported the fight would take place on April 25 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; however, CSI Sports has not announced the date, location, or ruleset. Mayweather and Tyson are a combined 107 years old. Mayweather weighed in at 160.7 pounds for his last exhibition fight with John Gotti III. Tyson weighed 228.4 pounds for his exhibition bout with Jake Paul.

Mayweather (50-0) retired from pro boxing after defeating former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor in 2017. Mayweather has taken eight exhibition boxing bouts in the time since, most notably a first-round TKO against generational kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa and an eight-round affair in a non-scored bout with WWE superstar Logan Paul. 

Tyson (50-7, 2 NC) has boxed three times since retiring in 2004. Two of those were exhibitions: a non-scored bout with Corey Sanders in 2006 and a draw against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020. Last year, Tyson boxed in his first professional fight in two decades against Paul. Tyson lost a lifeless decision against Paul, 30 years his junior. The critically panned fight was a huge commercial success for Netflix.