The boxing superfight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson officially has a new date, but that doesn’t mean fight fans are any more excited to see the awkward matchup unfold.
This includes UFC CEO, Dana White, who has been outspoken about his disapproval of the booking. While White is a close friend of Tyson’s and believes Tyson will always be a threat inside of the ring, the UFC frontman still can’t understand how “Iron Mike” is fighting someone half his age and in their athletic prime.
Just one week ago, the boxing superfight was put on ice due to Tyson’s current medical health. His ulcer began to act up and he literally had to be wheeled off an airplane. It didn’t look good for the former heavyweight champion of the world, which created more disgust for Paul’s cash grab against a fighter pushing 60 years of age. With the matchup back on, fight fans will still have to witness this ridiculous fight play out.
Earlier this week, White was asked about his role in booking Tyson’s boxing return against Paul. White immediately denied any involvement and once again voiced his concerns about the fight.
“God no [I didn’t help pull that match off],” White said during a recent appearance on FLAGRANT. “When this fight happens, Tyson will be 58 f—king years old. A f—king almost 60-year-old man shouldn’t be fighting a 27-year-old guy. Under any circumstances. Even if it’s Mike Tyson. It’s just f—king ridiculous.
“My biggest problem with the Jake Paul thing and how this plays out is, when he actually fought somebody who was a boxer, who had the same type of record he has, who was his age, who is his size, he f—king lost. So, they’re never gonna go that f—king route again, right?”
While White applauds Paul’s ability to continue to sell fights and make fans pay to watch he just doesn’t want it coming at the expense of older boxers like Tyson. That’s why the UFC CEO is completely against November’s matchup LIVE on Netflix.
“If you can keep getting paid, right? One hundred percent [do it],” White said. “If you got people that are f—king dumb enough to pay for that s—t then f—king, you know, good for you. Brilliant move [going to Netflix], too, because you don’t have to go pay. Everybody has f—king Netflix. Just turn it on. Ah, f—k it. I’ll turn it on and see what happens.
“I’m not against it. I love Mike Tyson. He’s f—king almost 60 years old, you know what I mean? My f—king back is killing me today. Killing me. I have no idea why. I guess it’s because I’m fifty-f—king-four. This guy (Paul) is 27, he’s in his prime as a human, and it’s f—king ridiculous. I love Mike and nobody wants to see Mike get beat by this f—king jerk-off.”