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Tyson and Mayweather to treat Kenyan fans to exhibition fight in Nairobi
Boxing icons Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr will be in Nairobi.
Kenyan boxing fans will be treated to a contest in the boxing ring featuring two of the world’s best boxers.
Nairobi has been proposed as the host city for a high-profile exhibition fight between boxing icons Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr after the government formally expressed its readiness to stage the global sporting spectacle in a public-private partnership framework.
Mr Abdishakur Mohamed Haji, the director of Doors to Hollywood Kenya, the local agent for the US promoter Bob Van Ronkel, said negotiations were underway and a contract will be signed soon for the exhibition match to be staged at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi. The exhibition fight between Tyson, 59, and Mayweather, 48, had been scheduled to take place in March before being pushed back to late May.
Mr Ronkel is the producer and president of Doors to Hollywood, a production company that connects international clients with Hollywood talent, including actors, musicians, and athletes.
“This will be an event to showcase the country as a global tourist destination. We are already in the final stages of holding talks with their agents to finalise the preparations. After we agree on the terms of hosting the event, we will then sign an agreement,” Mr Haji said.
In a letter issued through the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, the government conveyed its acceptance “in principle” to host the event, subject to the successful conclusion of mutually agreed terms and conditions with the promoters.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya described the exhibition as a premium international sports entertainment property whose global appeal aligns with Kenya’s strategy of positioning itself as a hub for world-class sporting and entertainment events.
“Kenya recognises the global stature of this event and its significance as a premium international sports entertainment property. Hosting the exhibition in Nairobi aligns with the Government’s strategic objectives of positioning Kenya as a leading destination for world-class sporting and entertainment events, while promoting sports tourism, private-sector investment, and international engagement,” Mr Mvurya said in the letter.
Hosting framework
Under the proposed arrangement, promoters would retain responsibility for event rights, production, athlete engagements, broadcasting and commercial operations, while the government would play a facilitative role, including inter-agency coordination, security and immigration services, regulatory approvals and diplomatic engagement.
The specific timelines and commercial terms have not been made public with the ministry inviting promoters to begin formal discussions to define the hosting framework and deliverables, with the aim of reaching a mutually beneficial agreement.
The event comes after Tyson’s recent bout with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, which drew massive pay-per-view and online audiences, the Tyson–Mayweather match-up is widely expected to target record-breaking digital distribution.
Mike Tyson first made the announcement of the African venue during a live “An Experience With Mike Tyson” event in November, calling it one of the biggest moments in boxing history -remarks later circulated by Championship Rounds.
In December, he reiterated that the fight would take place on the continent, linking the moment to his recently traced roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo and predicting it would shatter viewership and revenue records.
At its core, the fight is a generational collision between two of boxing’s most dominant figures, both long past their competitive primes but still commanding enormous global attention.
Mayweather competed between 1996 and 2017 and retired with an undefeated record. He won 15 major world championships spanning five weight classes from super featherweight to light middleweight. He currently works as a boxing promoter.
Tyson competed between 1985 and 2024, and is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. He was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles, as well as the only heavyweight to unify them in succession.
Tyson has framed the contest as another chance to prove his enduring mystique, recently declaring his desire to reassert what he called his “God-like” presence in the sport.
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