Undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather comes out of retirement after nine years
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Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather said he is coming out of retirement after nine years away from the sport and will return this summer.
He will return to the ring for a match under a promotional agreement with CSI Sports/Fight Sports.
American boxer Floyd Mayweather throws a punch against mixed martial arts artist Mikuru Asakura of Japan in Saitama, Tokyo on September 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said in a statement. “From my next Mike Tyson event to my next professional fight, no one will generate a bigger gate, have a bigger global broadcast audience and make more money from each event than my events.”
The undefeated Mayweather, who turns 49 on Tuesday, has not fought in a real bout since 2017 against Conor McGregor. Mayweather declared himself retired after that fight with a record of 50-0 and 27 KOs.
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Floyd Mayweather in action against Aaron Chalmers (not pictured) during their exhibition fight at the O2 in London on February 25, 2023. (Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)
The former five-division world champion has still been in the ring regularly throughout his 40s with a series of lucrative exhibition fights against the likes of online influencer Logan Paul, YouTuber Mikuri Asakura and John Gotti III, the grandson of the infamous mob boss.
Mayweather has already announced another exhibition for this spring against Mike Tyson, 59, although no location or television partner has been confirmed.
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Logan Paul, left, and Floyd Mayweather fight during an exhibition boxing match at Hard Rock Stadium on June 6, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Mayweather spent more than a decade as arguably the biggest American boxing star and beat Manny Pacquiao in 2015 in the richest fight in boxing history at the time. His superb defensive skills and quick hands were his strengths in the ring, but his stardom and wealth proliferated largely due to his anti-hero “Money May” persona.
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Now, he will try again as he approaches 50 years old and puts his undefeated record on the line.
The News contributed to this report.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to Title IX enforcement and in mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The News and ESPN.com.