Floyd Mayweather, 48, comes out of retirement for fourth time with bold new plan

Floyd Mayweather has announced he will come out of retirement for a fourth time, confirming plans to return to professional boxing later this year.

The 48-year-old former world champion, who last fought professionally in 2017, is first scheduled to face fellow boxing great Mike Tyson in an exhibition bout this spring.

Mayweather said he intends to step back into sanctioned competition after that event, marking his first professional fight in nine years. An opponent for the bout has not yet been announced.

The American star’s most recent professional appearance came in August 2017, when he defeated mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor by 10th-round technical knockout to extend his perfect record to 50 wins.

Over the course of his career, Mayweather captured world titles across five weight classes and became one of boxing’s biggest pay-per-view attractions.

“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said in a statement.

He added that his upcoming events would continue to dominate the sport commercially.

“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 than my events,” he said.

Mayweather previously retired in 2007, again in 2015, and once more after the McGregor fight in 2017. Since then, he has taken part in several exhibition bouts, most recently against John Gotti III in August 2024.

During his career, Mayweather headlined three of the highest-grossing fights in boxing history, including bouts against Manny Pacquiao, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and McGregor.

No date or location has yet been confirmed for his return to professional competition.