Mike Tyson: Dana White is ‘going to be the best thing to happen to boxing’

Mike Tyson has been in the boxing game a long time, and he’s happy to see Dana White jump in.

Ahead of his Nov. 15 fight with Jake Paul, Tyson appeared on the It Is What It Is podcast, where discussed a number of topics, including the White’s potential foray into the squared circle. White recently expressed renewed interest in his oft-discussed Zuffa Boxing promotion, and Tyson believes that the UFC CEO’s promotional style will translate perfectly to this new endeavor.

“That’s going to be the best thing to happen to boxing, just like UFC,” Tyson said. “If you’re in UFC, and if anybody’s booing the fight, you’re not going to see that guy. His next fight is going to be in South Dakota somewhere. Only good fights. If you don’t have a good fight, you ain’t never going to see that guy again.

“Not like boxing, ‘This guy’s going to fight next month again? We don’t want to see that.’ … if any fights stink, you’re not back in the UFC no more, you’re never going to see those guys again.”

Tyson specifically mentioned Shakur Stevenson as an example of a star boxer that continues to receive a lukewarm reception from the fans. Stevenson recently defended his WBC lightweight title with a lopsided decision win over Artem Harutyunyan in a bout that was lambasted by fans and media for a lack of action.

The 58-year-old Tyson expects to draw plenty of eyeballs for his return to the ring in November when he takes on Paul, though that matchup has also drawn its fair share of criticism. Tyson is 31 years older than Paul, who rose to fame as a YouTuber and social media influencer, and is competing professionally for the first time since 2005. He most recently squared off with fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout in November 2020 on a card that coincidentally featured Paul fighting basketball star Nate Robinson on the undercard.

Asked for his thoughts on Paul as a boxer, Tyson was brief.

“I don’t know,” Tyson said. “He’s improved since the first time he fought. I started him off, I started Jake off. I let him fight on my undercard four years ago, no one knew who the hell he was. So I started him and, most likely, it looks like I’m going to finish him.”

Much of the criticism surrounding Tyson vs. Paul are concerns over Tyson’s health. The two were actually supposed to fight this past July, but a pre-fight medical scare ahead of that date led to the bout being postponed.

Tyson didn’t speak directly about his own health situation, but he was asked to comment on whether he felt frequently concussed NFL quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should continue playing football and his answer may have reflected his thoughts on his own career and that of other combat sports lifers.

“Let me explain this to you, there’s some athletes you have to protect them from themselves, because they would rather die than quit,” Tyson said. “So that answers the question.”