“Money” is back! Floyd Mayweather Jr. announces a new return to professional boxing at the age of 49
Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published Saturday, February 21, 2026, 11:29 / Updated Saturday, February 21, 2026 11:29
Former five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. has announced he will come out of retirement for the fourth time and return to professional boxing at the age of 49 after a scheduled exhibition bout against Mike Tyson.
The American (50-0, 27 KOs) has not competed in an official match since 2017, when he defeated Conor McGregor by TKO, thus maintaining his perfect record.
Demonstration match in Congo, then official return
The exhibition match with Tyson is tentatively scheduled for April 2026 and would take place in Congo, but final details of the venue and TV rights have yet to be announced.
After this event, Mayweather confirmed that he will also fight a new professional match, thus marking yet another return to the ring.
The fourth return from retirement
Mayweather previously retired in 2007, 2015 and 2017. Even after his last official announcement, he remained active in highly lucrative showcase events, boxing with:
“I can still set new records”
“I still have what it takes to set new boxing records. From the Mike Tyson event to my next pro fight, no one will generate more revenue, more consistent global audiences and more money than my events”Mayweather said, according to the BBC.
Considered one of the biggest commercial draws in boxing history, Mayweather reached his financial peak in 2015 when he defeated Manny Pacquiao in one of the most lucrative bouts of all time.
His return to the ring comes shortly after Business Insider published an extensive investigation into the boxer's financial situation at the end of 2025. Although on social networks he constantly showed images from private planes, from yachts and from exclusive vacations, the American publication wrote that the 48-year-old sportsman would have debts including for sanitation services.
According to the quoted source, the extravagant lifestyle would have left his accounts uncovered, and since 2017 he would have been forced to pay over 24 million euros representing outstanding taxes. To these were added failed investments, in cryptocurrencies and in the real estate sector.
