Former world champions Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather are set to compete in an exhibition bout next year.
The event will be put on by CSI Sports/Fight Sports but details regarding the date, location, broadcasters and rules are yet to be announced.
Tyson, 59, is a former undisputed heavyweight champion while Mayweather, 48, retired undefeated after 50 fights, winning multiple titles across a number of weight classes.
“This fight is something neither the world nor I ever thought would or could happen. However, boxing has entered a new era of the unpredictable and this fight is as unpredictable as it gets,” said Tyson.
Tyson is competing for the first time since ending his 19-year retirement in November in a controversial defeat by Jake Paul.
He spent the entirety of his career, which yielded 50 wins from 59 fights, at heavyweight while the latter stages of Mayweather’s career were at welterweight.
Mayweather, who has won titles across five weight classes, has competed in a number of exhibition bouts since retiring in 2017 with his last outing coming against John Gotti III last August.
Formal winners are not usually declared in exhibitions and the results do not count towards either fighter’s career record.
“You already know that if I am going to do something, it’s going to be big and it’s going to be legendary,” said Mayweather.
“I’m the best in the business of boxing. This exhibition will give the fans what they want.”
Business, not boxing – do fans really want to see this?
They are two of the biggest names boxing has known: Tyson, the youngest heavyweight champion in history, and Mayweather, the unbeaten five-weight king.
On paper, a match-up between the pair sounds like the stuff of fantasy. But in reality it’s a very different story.
Mayweather says he is giving the fans what they want. But is this really it? One man is pushing 60, the other was competing several divisions below Tyson’s heavyweight frame.
Yes, Tyson-Mayweather isn’t a pro fight. Yes, there won’t be an official winner. But does that justify the spectacle?
These exhibitions, like Jake Paul v Gervonta Davis or Tyson v Mayweather, continue to blur the lines between competition and entertainment.
The last time Tyson stepped into a ring, he was beaten by Paul – a former Disney Channel star turned YouTuber turned boxer. That was billed as a professional contest and left many wondering if this is how one of the sport’s most feared champions should be remembered.
Tyson-Paul was streamed on Netflix and did huge numbers – the main event peaked at 65 million concurrent streams – so it’s obvious what is driving this.
Mayweather’s words say it all – “business”, not boxing, is the key term here. And if there’s one thing he knows how to do, it is make money.
