Just when the boxing world started to wonder if it was all smoke and mirrors, the rumored clash between Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has a time and a place. For Tyson, it will be the first exhibition bout since he faced Roy Jones Jr. almost six years ago. After that, he stepped in to fight Jake Paul in a special-rules pro bout in late 2024. While he made international exhibition tours a regular feature, Mayweather has yet to return to action since the August 2024 exhibition rematch against John Gotti III.

“We heard about it a couple of months ago. There was an announcement with no details. I started to wonder if it was even going to happen,” said Ring Magazine’s senior boxing insider Mike Coppinger. “Now I’m told it is happening. This Mayweather–Mike Tyson exhibition is going to happen on April 25 in the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo). That’s the plan.”

Coppinger concluded that the exhibition involves two of the biggest names in boxing of the last 50 years. The veteran journalist may have broken the final details that had remained unclear since September last year, but Mike Tyson himself had already hinted at the fight—minus the date and venue details—during a recent interview.

While speaking with TMZ Sports to promote his amateur boxing tournament, Tyson confirmed the Mayweather bout.

“Yeah, it’s happening. Sh*t, yeah, it’s happening,” he told host Mike Babcock. “You think I give that up? I was minding my business. He challenged me.”

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Earlier, on September 5 of last year, as news about their matchup started gaining traction, a message on X showed Mike Tyson sharing a split image of himself and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The post featured a brief message: “Coming soon.”

Momentum builds around the Mike Tyson-Floyd Mayweather showdown

“This fight is something neither the world nor I ever thought would or could happen,” Tyson told TMZ Sports at the time. “However, boxing has entered an unpredictable phase—and this fight is as unpredictable as any. I still can’t believe Floyd really wants to do this. It could be detrimental to his health, but he wants to do it, so it’s signed, and it’s happening!”

By April of this year, it will be 17 months since Tyson faced an opponent. On November 15, 2024, however, he made a comeback 19 years after retiring from professional boxing. The fight against Jake Paul, who was 30 years younger, drew significant scrutiny, with many voicing concerns over the veteran’s health and safety.

The Netflix event concluded uneventfully, with Tyson suffering his first loss on the scorecards.

His upcoming opponent, meanwhile, built his reputation fighting both known and lesser-known names in exhibitions staged in Japan, England, and the Middle East after retiring from professional boxing in 2017. After their first meeting ended in controversy, Mayweather returned for a rematch with John Gotti III, the scion of New York’s Gambino family, in Mexico, roughly two months before Tyson and Paul met.

Beyond Mayweather’s exhibition schedule, as Coppinger also highlighted, the months following the Tyson exhibition announcement saw talks of a rematch between Mayweather and old rival Manny Pacquiao emerge, adding to the confusion over the fate of the Tyson fight. Now, the exhibition appears to have received approval first.