It’s a question all the old fighters get asked when they are unwilling, or unable, to quit the ring: Why? Right now, 59 year old Mike Tyson has got plenty of people shaking their heads, wondering why the hell he is still taking fights. It came as a real shock when Tyson’s 2026 bout with Floyd Mayweather was announced, and Tyson is now set to return to the ring after that pretty bad night against Jake Paul.
Tyson, as much in the spotlight these days as he ever was, spoke about why he’s still fighting when he was a guest on the Today Show. Tyson mentioned two crucial reasons for his inability, and his unwillingness to hang up the gloves for good: Money and the fact that, as he put it, “it’s all I know how to do.”
Tyson’s Emotional Answer to His Son’s Question
“I have a 14-year old son, and my son said, ‘Why? Why are you doing this?” Tyson said. “For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. And I felt sad for a moment. I said, ‘because I’m the best that ever did it.’ That’s why. He didn’t get it, but I said, ‘I have to, it is all I know how to do.’ Listen, I made more money in my 50s than I did in my 20s. And I only had, what, four fights over my 50s. That’s really interesting. From that perspective, I’m 60 years old now. The money doesn’t mean anything. The people I love, I can take care of.”
Straight from the heart stuff from the one-time “Baddest Man on the Planet.” Simply put, the love affair so many millions of fans continue to have with Tyson ensures he can still pull in huge amounts of money by doing, as he says himself, the only thing he knows how to do, and that’s fight.
Will Tyson Keep It Exhibition-Style Against Mayweather?
The Mayweather bout will be an exhibition, but as has been pointed out, Tyson does seem to genuinely dislike Mayweather, and as a result there is a chance the former heavyweight champ will be throwing real punches, with genuine ‘bad intentions,’ as Mike’s former trainer Kevin Rooney used to say. Maybe, in the Mayweather bout, Tyson will have more to fight for than just money.
And say what you will about the fight/exhibition/event – you will be tuning in on the night. Even now, with Tyson being over a quarter of a century removed from his prime, he is still one of the biggest stars of the sport. And who would find giving that up an easy thing to do?