Boxing

UFC Legend Puts 'Ridiculous' Mike Tyson vs Floyd Mayweather Fight On Blast

One member of the MMA community is not keen about Floyd Mayweather fighting Mike Tyson.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / Cover-Images

The announcement that Floyd "Money" Mayweather would be fighting Mike Tyson sometime in the spring of 2026 has stirred up a lot of hot takes within the boxing community.

There's no question that both Mayweather and Tyson are legends of the sport, and will be making a boatload of money to meet each other in the ring. However, the fact that these two will be a combined 108 years old at the time of their fight, the massive size difference, and the bout being an exhibition have turned plenty of fans sour on the idea of this contest.

Ultimately, only time will tell whether this fight actually brings some excitement or whether it's a mere money grab for two men who have already made a lot of money through exhibition fights over the past few years. Either way, fans are going to be watching.

Ex-UFC Champion Daniel Cormier Sends Scathing Message About Floyd Mayweather vs. Mike Tyson

Floyd Mayweather watches Inter Miami and Nashville SC practice on August 30, 2023
Aug 30, 2023; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Floyd Mayweather watches Inter Miami and Nashville SC practice before the game at DRV PNK Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

UFC fans aren't as used to exhibition bouts as the boxing community, given that they aren't common in the sport of MMA. Perhaps this is part of why former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier put this fight on blast during a September 5 video of his YouTube channel.

“My biggest question always, around these things, is how do guys explain [this fight] to the general public?” Cormier said. “It’s not going to be an actual fight; it’s going to be an exhibition. So, how much in that exhibition are we supposed to believe that they’re actually fighting?

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“I get the word ‘exhibition’ when you combine weight classes," Cormier added. "The exhibition has to be fought at a pace and intensity level that make people go ‘I want to watch this!’ Because when Mike fought Roy Jones, it was something I always would’ve been interested in. But when the fight happened, it felt too much like [Tyson] wasn’t trying to hurt [Jones Jr.]. When I watch fights, I want to see people trying to hurt each other. It’s what we sign up for.

“People love seeing people get f**** up. I don’t think those guys can promise violence," he continued, "We’ve already seen Floyd do this with Logan Paul, doing these exhibitions. One thing I know we won’t see is Mike starch Floyd.”

Cormier isn't alone in having a lot of questions about this fight. It will be interesting to see how the outcome of Mayweather fighting Tyson impacts the future of exhibition bouts in boxing.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.