Dana White has voiced his concerns over Mike Tyson’s fight with Jake Paul (Picture: Getty)
UFC chief Dana White has made his feelings clear over Mike Tyson’s upcoming bout with Jake Paul, saying he ‘doesn’t like to see guys fighting’ when there is such an enormous age difference.
The boxing world learned about Tyson and Paul’s fight last Thursday, with the event set to be streamed live on Netflix from Texas’ 80,000-seater AT&T Stadium – home of the Dallas Cowboys – on July 20.
In 2020, Tyson briefly came out retirement to take on fellow veteran Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition match and the 57-year-old – one of the most revered heavyweights in history – is keen to prove his doubters wrong once again against YouTube sensation Paul, 27, who is 30 years his junior.
A number of high-profile figures have voiced their concerns over the spectacle, with Eddie Hearn saying it made him ‘incredibly sad’ and Conor McGregor admitting he ‘doesn’t understand’ the match up.
Paul’s manager, Nakisa Bidarian has since responded to the backlash, calling Hearn a ‘hypocrite’, but UFC president White understands why there has been such a strong reaction to the announcement.
‘He gets mad when I do this but Mike’s 60, man. I don’t know… what do you guys think about it?’ White told reporters at a press conference for UFC 299.
‘Who gives a s*** what I think? It’s not my fight.
‘I love Mike Tyson personally, as a friend, and he’s one of my favourite athletes of all time.
‘I don’t know… let’s see what he can go in there and put together in his training camp.
‘I don’t like to see guys fighting… there will be a 31-year age difference during that fight. You guys know what I think of that stuff…’
The UFC president is not a fan of veterans of the sport returning in their later years (Picture: Getty)
White is not surprised that streaming companies such as Netflix have started to penetrate the world of live sports events.
‘I think that Netflix should have got live sports years ago. I think they’re late to the game but they are a force. They’re a force, man,’ he added.
‘When you look at the amount of homes that they’re in worldwide… have you guys heard me talking about this show Reacher? I posted about it. I love that show.
‘I hate f***ing TV, I don’t watch any TV shows, hardly ever. I don’t watch movies anymore.
‘But I watch the show Reacher. I can watch Reacher whenever I want to. I can watch it when I go home, I can watch it next week, right?
‘Live sports like this event [UFC 299] you had to watch tonight. As all these massive streaming companies start to get bigger and bigger, they have to be involved in live sports.’
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