SUMMARY
- Dana White revealed that he had a conversation with Mike Tyson's wife about his fight against Jake Paul.
- White is not a fan of people fighting at the age of Tyson but he claimed that the former heavyweight champion is taking it seriously.
Jake Paul is set to take on Mike Tyson on July 20, 2024, in a boxing bout. The announcement of the fight, which was made early in March, surprised everyone. Many even claimed that there was no chance that the fight would be a fair one. UFC CEO Dana White’a’s latest revelation could add another perspective into the mix.
Paul vs. Tyson will be streamed live by Netflix – the American streaming company’s first live combat sports event. People who are already subscribed will not have to pay anything extra to watch the fight.
‘We signed the contract.’ @netflix @MostVpromotions tions #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/1H97Epxnkp
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) March 7, 2024
Many fans and even famous personalities claimed that the fight was going to be rigged. Boxer Derek Chisora claimed that the fight would be a sparring match involving heavy gloves and headgear. On the other hand, UFC fighter Colby Covington claimed that Tyson’s latest training footage was not recent. According to Covington, Paul’s fights are rigged and Tyson is too old to take to the boxing ring.
Dana White claims he had a conversation with Mike Tyson’s wife about the Jake Paul fight
UFC CEO Dana White was a guest on Lex Fridman’s podcast where he gave his views on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight. He said he was not a fan of anyone who fights at the age of Tyson. As of now, Tyson is 57 years old but he will be 58 by the time he fights.
(Watch from 1:02:30 minutes)
White said, “I love Mike Tyson and I’m not a fan of anybody fighting at our age, but, he’s a grown man obviously and he’s gonna do what he’s gonna do, but, at least I know, I talked to his wife a couple [of] days ago and he’s taking it serious and he’s training for it and you know, so, we’ll see how it plays out.”
Tyson has also shown his seriousness through his workout posts on his social media. He has been hitting the pads and getting in shape. This makes it increasingly unlikely that the fight is rigged.
Dana White slams Jake Paul for fighting athletes older than him
White has talked about the Tyson vs. Paul fight on multiple occasions. A few days ago, on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, he said, “I’m not thrilled to see him [Tyson] do this stuff. When the fight happens, he’ll be 58 years old. It’ll be a 31-year age difference between these two.
“Jake Paul did fight a kid his age and he lost. I just saw this thing on the internet yesterday, I reposted where it say if he beats Mike Tyson, he’s going to fight Clint Eastwood next. Clint Eastwood is 93 years old. I don’t know, man.”
(Watch from 41:55 minutes)
White thinks Paul just looks for fighters who would help him sell PPVs. “What Jake wants is Jake wants to make money,” White said. “The people that follow Jake Paul don’t buy Jake Paul’s fights, so Jake Paul has to fight people who can actually sell pay-per-views.”
Paul holds a professional boxing record of 9-1. He has boxed against multiple notable names from the world of MMA. His only loss has come against pro boxer Tommy Fury. The YouTuber-turned-boxer last fought Ryan Bourland – an opponent whose boxing abilities were highly questioned. Paul won the fight expectedly. Tyson, on the other hand, last entered the ring in 2020 and drew against Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout.