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Mike Tyson and Jake Paul won’t be fighting one another on July 20 at AT&T Stadium after a health scare for the former.
And if it were up to UFC CEO Dana White, they wouldn’t be fighting one another at all.
White spoke out against the fight during a recent podcast appearance, calling it “ridiculous.”
“God no [I didn’t help pull that match off],” White said on FLAGRANT of Paul vs. Tyson. “When this fight happens, Tyson will be 58 f—— years old. A f—— 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—— 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—— lost. So, they’re never gonna go that f—— route again, right?”
Paul, a social media superstar turned sort of, kind of boxer, took the first loss of his boxing career in February of 2023 against Tommy Fury.
He then rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over ex-UFC star Nate Diaz and a pair of finishes against boxers Andre August and Ryan Bourland, neither of whom anybody has actually heard of.
Dana White Joins Growing Calls For Mike Tyson-Jake Paul Fight To Be Cancelled
White is far from the first critic of the proposed fight.
Former heavyweight boxing champ Deontay Wilder spoke at length about why he doesn’t want to see Tyson back in the ring.
“I think it’s bad the commission has licensed Mike Tyson because he hasn’t been active in 20 years, so they should not just license him because of who he is,” Wilder said. “That’s how people get hurt, god forbid he gets hurt. People can get hit in the wrong place and at the wrong time, there’s lots of examples where guys have been hit into a coma. It’s easy to do.”
Ex-UFC champion Demetrious Johnson expressed similar thoughts recently.
For now, the fight is simply on hiatus. But it does feel like momentum is growing for it to be cancelled altogether.