Tyson Fury has revealed what he really feels about ageing fighters such as Mike Tyson returning to professional boxing after initially retiring decades ago, with the American heavyweight set to take on Floyd Mayweather Jr in Africa on 25 April.
Fury, Tyson and Mayweather will all return to action in 2026, with the trio previously retiring from the sport of boxing.
The self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ has not fought since sustaining a second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024 but will return to face Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 11 April.
At 37, by heavyweight standards, Fury is still very much an elite operator with a lot more to achieve.
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However, the same can’t be said for 59-year-old Tyson, who is set to box the unbeaten Mayweather Jr, 49, on 25 April.
‘Iron Mike’ hadn’t fought as a professional since 2005 before he returned, facing Jake Paul in November 2024.
The younger of the pair, who was 27 at the time, dominated a then-58-year-old Tyson, winning by unanimous decision.
The man who was previously dubbed ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ has not fought since.
Meanwhile, Mayweather officially retired from professional boxing after defeating Conor McGregor by 10th-round TKO, extending his record to 50–0 in August 2017.
Since then, ‘Pretty Boy’ has competed in exhibition bouts against several well-known social media personalities, including Jake’s brother Logan Paul and KSI’s brother Deji.
Mayweather is also due to rematch Manny Pacquiao on 19 September 2026.
And despite legends of the sport returning to the ring, no doubt creating huge financial gains for those involved, as well as attracting the attention of fans, is there a moral dilemma attached to a near-60-year-old man competing in such a violent sport?
Despite several fans and ex-boxers branding the bout as sad to see, Fury believes “they are all good for boxing”.
“They are all famous people and bring eyeballs,” he told SPORTbible.
“Mike Tyson, Jake Paul, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather – they are all gigantic names in the game, so through them, people watch boxing. Even at 106 years old each, their boxing inspires youngsters to take it up tomorrow. Or you might get a little kid who is training in Liverpool that nobody even knows, who’s had four fights – someone might want to watch him because they’ve watched the names I’ve mentioned.
“I don’t buy into this hatred of people making money. Even things like Misfits Boxing – it’s all good because it brings good viewing figures and more fans to boxing. And then maybe the real fighters get seen on those cards as well.”
Tickets for Fury v Makhmudov can be purchased via Ticketmaster
Topics: Tyson Fury, Mike Tyson, Boxing, Jake Paul, Manny Pacquiao
Luke Davies