Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather
Credit: Getty
Yes, it’s true.
TMZ Sports broke the news on Thursday evening and it has since been confirmed, boxing Hall-of-Famers and all-time greats Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will face each other in an exhibition boxing match.
According to reports, the fight will take place in the Spring 2026. Tyson took to social media to confirm the news. While some may hate the fight, can we all agree this fight poster is pretty sweet.
The location hasn’t been confirmed, but would anyone be shocked if it happened in Saudi Arabia or somewhere outside the United States?
Take that as nothing more than educated speculation based on the recent trends in combat sports, but it’s something to think about.
Predictably, the criticism for the fight has already started to pour in. The Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger didn’t hold back with his critique.
Here’s the thing—exhibitions in boxing are always polarizing. That’s the draw. We know it won’t be a full-on fight as both are advanced in years and there is the obvious weight disparity.
For the educated fight fan, there may not be a lot here beyond the spectacle of seeing two all-time greats share the ring.
Tyson already dipped into this world with his exhibition against Jake Paul, which managed to be both ridiculed and one of the most-watched boxing events in years. Again, there is the polarization. Like it or not, people tuned in. And Paul himself is continuing to milk this lane, lining up another spectacle against Gervonta Davis later this year.
That’s the template: big names, big crossover potential, and plenty of conversation, even if the purists can’t stomach it. If the purists want to be angry at someone, the fighters aren’t the ones to blame. It’s the fans who pay to watch. If there are no fans, the events won’t be big-money fights and thus they won’t happen.
Mayweather practically wrote the playbook. Before Tyson ever re-entered the spotlight, Floyd was already cashing in with his 2017 spectacle against Conor McGregor–which wasn’t an exhibition but it was a crossover fight on the biggest platform we’d ever seen.
Since then, he’s stayed active on the crossover circuit with exhibitions against Logan Paul, Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, and even John Gotti III. None of those bouts were considered “real” tests, but all of them did exactly what they were supposed to—generate headlines and big paydays. This one will do the same thing.
When I interviewed Mayweather earlier this year, he was blunt about his role in shaping this lane. He saw himself as the pioneer, the guy who proved you could take a crossover exhibition and make it a global attraction. Tyson and Mayweather sharing a ring, even without a sanctioned title at stake, is the ultimate extension of that vision. He continues to win in boxing and business.
So when fans and media ask, “Who needs this fight?” the answer is simple: maybe no one. The better question is: who can resist watching, covering, and discussing it?
As tired as some might feel about exhibitions, they’re still printing money, and no two names are more synonymous with boxing–and now crossover fights–than Tyson and Mayweather.
Love it or hate it, barring some last-minute issues, this one is going to happen and everyone involved is going to make a ton of money.
