Mayweather Jr. to unretire after Tyson exhibition

Just days before his 49th birthday, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has announced that he will end his retirement and resume his professional boxing career after his spring 2026 boxing exhibition with Mike Tyson

Mayweather has signed an exclusive agreement with CSI Sports/Fight Sports as his promoter for the next stage of his career.

“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said in a written statement to ESPN. “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 — then my events. And I plan to keep doing it with my global media partner, CSI Sports/FIGHT SPORTS.”

Mayweather retired from boxing at the age of 40 after his August 2017 knockout win over MMA star Conor McGregor, running his record to a perfect 50-0 with 27 wins by stoppage. He has since competed in several exhibition boxing matches with the likes of Logan Paul, Mikuru Asakura and John Gotti III.

It was announced last September that Mayweather and Tyson would meet in an exhibition match in spring 2026. There have been reports that the fight will take place on April 25 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but ESPN could not confirm the fight would take place on that date, and no network has been established to carry the fight.

Mayweather has been in the news over the past few weeks as he filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Showtime earlier this month. Mayweather claims that he is owed “at least” $340 million from his reported $1.2 billion in career fight purses.

Mayweather would be returning to a sport with a completely new set of competitors that are nearly half his age. However, the recent return of Manny Pacquiao to the pro ranks would suggest that a much-talked-about rematch between the two fighters after their 2015 meeting could take place as a professional boxing match.

“Signing Floyd Mayweather to un-retire after he captures another world-wide audience with his Mike Tyson match-up, highlights our commitment to providing our global audience with the most high-profile fighters in the sport,” Richard and Craig Miele, co-founders of CSI Sports/Fight Sports, said in a written statement. “Floyd will once again continue to dominate boxing with the biggest audience and highest gross events of all time, and we are proud and privileged to be able to do with our global team at CSI Sports/FIGHT SPORTS. We look forward to even more announcements that will excite fans and continue to build the sport in 2026!”