MIAMI – Dana White isn’t enthusiastic about the upcoming Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match.
Tyson (50-6), who will be 58 at the time of the fight, is set to square off against 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-pro boxer Paul (9-1) on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The UFC CEO, mindful of his friendship with Tyson, treaded carefully with his comments but made it clear that he doesn’t support the idea of the boxing legend competing, regardless of the opponent.
“He gets mad when I do this, but Mike’s 60, man,” White said during the UFC 299 post-fight news conference. “I don’t know, what do you guys think about it? Who gives a sh*t what I think? It’s not my fight.
“I love Mike Tyson personally as a friend, and he’s one of my favorite athletes of all time. I don’t know. Let’s see what he can go in there and put together a training camp and come in. I don’t like to see guys fighting at (that age). It’d be a 31-year age difference during that fight. You guys know what I think of that stuff.”
Netflix has scheduled to broadcast the fight live for subscribers, a move that caught White’s attention. While he acknowledged Netflix’s late entry into live sports streaming, he emphasized the potential impact of such platforms in the sports broadcasting landscape.
“I think that Netflix should have gotten into live sports years ago,” White said. “I think they’re late to the game, but they are a force. When you look at the amount of homes that they’re in worldwide … the show ‘Reacher’ – I posted about it. I love that show. I f*cking hate TV. I don’t watch any TV show, hardly ever. I don’t watch movies anymore. But I love the show ‘Reacher.’ I can watch ‘Reacher’ whenever I want to. I can watch it when I get home. I can watch it next week.
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