Jose Aldo targeting Floyd Mayweather Jr. boxing match in 2023: ‘It might be an exhibition on his side, but not for me’

Jose Aldo wants a shot at a boxing legend in 2023.

Following his successful professional boxing debut, the former UFC featherweight champion told MMA Fighting on Friday in Rio de Janeiro that he is in talks to box undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition bout later this year.

“His side has already agreed, my side too,” Aldo told MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz. “We’re now waiting for [the promoters] to get the deal done.”

MMA Fighting has learned that talks are ongoing for a possible boxing showdown in June or June in Saudi Arabia.

An upcoming member of the UFC’s 2023 Hall of Fame class, Aldo won his pro boxing debut on Friday with a unanimous decision over Emmanuel Zambrano at Shooto Boxing.

Aldo (31-8 MMA) is already set to make his second boxing appearance in a rematch against Jeremy Stephens at Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Boxing 4 event on April 1. He previously defeated Stephens via first-round TKO in the UFC in 2018.

“It might be exhibition on [Mayweather’s] side, but not for me,” Aldo said. “It’s punch to the face like always. He knows that.”

Mayweather (50-0) has embarked on an extensive tour of exhibition bouts since his retirement from boxing in 2017, taking on the likes of Logan Paul, Tenshin Nasukawa, and influencer Deji Olatunji over the course of five bouts. He’s scheduled to face Bellator veteran and reality television star Aaron Chalmers in his next exhibition bout on Feb. 25.

A message from MMA Fighting to Mayweather’s representatives went unreturned at the time of this writing.