Floyd Mayweather’s chaotic exhibition career and what it could mean for Mike Tyson clash

Tyson will box Mayweather next year in the latter’s latest exhibition bout

Floyd Mayweather (right) and Logan Paul during a 2021 exhibition (Getty)

The legendary Floyd Mayweather is set to return to the ring in 2026 for a fight that nobody saw coming.

That’s right, the former five-weight world champion has shockingly agreed to fight Mike Tyson, 59, in an exhibition bout, despite there being a huge size disparity between the two men.

Mayweather, 48, retired from professional boxing in 2017 with a perfect 50-0 record, but has been involved in eight exhibition fights since.

They have not all gone to plan, though. Mayweather has faced plenty of drama both inside and outside the ring.

Let’s revisit his chaotic exhibition career to date and assess whether we could be in for another crazy night when he steps in the ring with Tyson.

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Kickboxer knockout on debut

A little over a year after stopping Conor McGregor in his final professional fight, Mayweather agreed to travel over to Japan to take on kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa for his exhibition debut.

Nasukawa was a featherweight world champion in kickboxing and fancied his chances against Mayweather, regardless of being comfortably the smaller man.

As the opening bell rang, Mayweather did not seem to be taking the contest particularly seriously. He had a huge grin on his face as he stalked his opponent without throwing any meaningful punches.

But Nasukawa was switched on and started trying to put combinations together. That sparked Mayweather into life and he sent Nasukawa to the canvas for the first time with a clipping left hook to the top of the head.

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Nasukawa was unsteady on his feet as he got back up, and other fighters may have gone easy on him after spotting that he was hurt, acknowledging that this was only an exhibition. Not Mayweather.

The American superstar sensed his moment to go for the finish and started unloading big punches.

Nasukawa bravely fought back but a right hand to the body followed by an uppercut knocked him down again.

He rose once more, but another sharp combination sent Nasukawa down for the third and final time as the fight was waved off after just 140 seconds.

Mayweather showed little sympathy for his opponent as he danced around the ring, while Nasukawa was left in tears after his first-round humiliation.

It had been a disastrous night for Nasukawa, but he has since moved into professional boxing and is currently unbeaten in seven fights.

Mayweather returns against Logan Paul

After taking out Nasukawa inside a round, Mayweather did not have another exhibition fight for over two years. Then Logan Paul came calling.

The YouTuber had made a name for himself in crossover boxing by facing KSI twice, and he agreed to fight Mayweather across eight rounds in June 2021.

It was decided that Mayweather would not be able to weigh more than 160lbs, while the much taller Paul had to be 190lbs or below.

The bad blood between the two camps went up a notch when Logan’s younger brother, Jake, pinched Mayweather’s hat at a press event just weeks before the fight, almost sparking a mass brawl.

When Mayweather and Paul finally stepped between the ropes, the size difference was incredible to witness.

The athletic Paul, who is 18 years Mayweather’s junior, tried to overpower his smaller opponent and was not afraid to let his hands go.

However, his accuracy left something to be desired. Paul only connected with 28 of the 217 punches he threw, according to CompuBox, while Mayweather landed 43 of his 107 punches.

The fight was not scored as Paul made it to the final bell. He returned to boxing in October 2023 to win a grudge match with MMA star Dillon Danis by disqualification, and is now trying his hand at another sport – professional wrestling with the WWE.

(AFP/Getty)

Mayweather gets a black eye from KSI’s brother

Mayweather started to become more active after facing Paul and had three fights in 2022.

The final one came against KSI’s brother, Deji Olatunji. The bout took place in Dubai and Deji was not expected to cause any problems due to his lack of boxing experience.

That is certainly how Mayweather saw things as he danced around the ring, goaded Deji and even held up a placard to show the round number during a break in the action.

However, Deji did grab his attention with one punch that caught Mayweather just below the eye, and it started to swell up immediately.

That shot refocused Mayweather and he went on to force a sixth-round stoppage, but he was left nursing a black eye in the aftermath of the fight.

(Getty)

Gotti III disqualification sparks mass brawl

Mayweather fought in the UK for the first time in early 2023 when he faced reality TV star Aaron Chalmers at the O2 Arena in a largely forgettable eight-round fight that was not scored.

Four months later, he returned to the US to take on John Gotti III, the grandson of former crime boss, John Gotti.

There were no judges at ringside as Mayweather and Gotti went through the motions. There was very little action in the ring, but both men were warned for excessive trash talking and abusive language.

When Gotti refused to relent, referee Kenny Bayliss waved off the contest in the sixth round.

Members of both teams stormed into the ring and Gotti proceeded to try and land punches on Mayweather.

He failed and was caught by a counter shot from Mayweather as a mass brawl broke out before security eventually stepped in.

Mayweather and Gotti had to be escorted out of the ring as tempers boiled over.

They subsequently agreed to a rematch last year, which Mayweather dominated over eight rounds, but it was a non-scored bout.

Will Tyson vs Mayweather descend into chaos?

The moral of the story when it comes to Mayweather’s exhibition career is to expect the unexpected.

Whether it’s first-round knockouts, excessive trash talking or mass brawls, there is always something that keeps fans tuning in.

Tyson has had his fair share of controversial moments before, during and after fights as well.

He was famously disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in their 1997 rematch and was arguably fortunate to avoid the same fate when he continued punching the over-matched Lou Savarese after the referee had waved off the fight three years later.

Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear (Sky Sports)

Tyson was then involved in an altercation with Lennox Lewis during the press tour for their 2002 showdown, leading to a whole line of security being used to separate the pair for the ring introductions on fight night.

Tyson appears to have mellowed over the years, but he once called Mayweather a “scared little man” after he claimed he was better than Muhammad Ali.

This could still be playing on the minds of both men, and may cause emotions to spill over when that first bell rings in 2026.

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