Report: Tyson Vs. Mayweather, The Con In The Congo, Is Off For Now

The scheduled fight that no boxing fans asked for but all of us would have watched, Mike Tyson/Floyd Mayweather, ain’t gonna happen. For now, at least. Veteran boxing insider Dan Rafael reported last night that this latest melding of sports and circus "definitely" will not take place on April 25 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as originally announced. No specific reason was given for taking the fight off the calendar. A half-century-and-change ago, back when it was called Zaire, the same country hosted perhaps the biggest fight in boxing history: the Rumble in the Jungle, Ali vs. Foreman. Don’t confuse Tyson vs. Mayweather with that. This one's a surefire hideousity. Tyson, a heavyweight from first fight to last, is 59 years old; Mayweather, whose best days came as a welterweight, is a ring-worn 49. Both retired from real fighting long ago, and both went out the first time in sanctioned sideshows. Mayweather’s 50th and allegedly final official fight came in 2017 in Las Vegas, when he carried MMA blowhard Conor McGregor, a boxing novice making his professional debut, for nine rounds before knocking him out. Mike Tyson’s last even vaguely authentic fight came 21 years ago in D.C., when the onetime baddest man on the planet got humiliated and stopped after six rounds by a different pasty Irish dude, Kevin McBride. These going-away fiascos each drew stout live gates and pay-per-view revenues: Mayweather/McGregor brought in a reported $600 million, which made it the second-largest PPV of all time.