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

[TCE]

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.”

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

Mike Tyson is excited about UFC boss Dana White entering the boxing world.

www.mmafighting.com

 

[7 others]

But Dana said Powerslap is better doe

 

[Doctor Grudge]

But Dana said Powerslap is better doe

He didn't say that, the billion fans that follow it did.

 

[modulus]

Sad to think that a fighter Cus D'Amato trained thinks Dana will be the best thing to happen to boxing.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

He's not wrong about the mentality of boxers, many are out just to win, I feel like MMA fighters are trying to have an entertaining fight more often than not, particularly below title level.

 

[GiganticMeat]

Poor Tyson. Has an outdated view of the UFC. We're now in the era of commentators deciding stand ups should never happen, even though they're very clearly written into the rules if someone isn't advancing to finish the fight

Hopefully I'll be proven wrong.

 

[loisestrad]

Didn't know Jake Paul vs Tyson was back on. And just a few days after Jones-Stipe. Gonna be a ridiculous week.

 

[Shaolin Alan]

Court Mcgee finna headline Fight Night Nebraska!!

 

[TheMissedRightHook]

My main thing with this topic is What Can Dana do that would be so big it would change boxing? Unlike mma he does not have any of the main boxers or any of the main boxing belts. Dana could create his own boxing title but I dont think many boxing fans would look at that title and think the ufc boxing champ is the best boxer out there. That bring up the question would Dana be willing to put out paydays of $35 million to one fighter just to get the best names of boxing to fight under his promotion?

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Sounds like a bunch dudes need to get sent to South Dakota LoL

 

[payton]

Dana already failed as a boxing promoter lol

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

The few boxers that draw big numbers aren't going to fight for Zuffa Boxing peanuts

 

[Tnellie30]

CTE and the weeds are catching up to Iron Mike, in a hurry.

 

[Craig Hogg]

He also thought biting part of an opponents ear off was a good idea too.

 

[theincognito]

The promotion actually matters in MMA. They don't at all in boxing and haven't since Don King had all the top HWs locked up.

Dana isn't a good promoter anyway. He was just right place right time with UFC. These days he spends more time shilling Powerslap to an utterly uninterested audience than trying to make new UFC stars.

Knowing how Dana is, he's probably gotten in with that Riyadh season guy and will just start taking credit for what he's already been doing in boxing.

 

[Bluesbreaker]

Why? He is the worst thing to happen to MMA.

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

It makes absolutely zero sense for the UFC to try and get involved in promoting boxing. Then again them attaching their brand to fucking Powerslap made even less sense.

 

[usernamee]

Zuffa Boxing is soon to take over the world

any minute now

 

[ryanrandy]

He's not wrong about the mentality of boxers, many are out just to win, I feel like MMA fighters are trying to have an entertaining fight more often than not, particularly below title level.

I don't agree with this at all. You are speaking about tens of thousands of boxers. Boxing like mma has different styles. Some are boring and some are not. How many exciting must watch current boxers do you want me to post right now to prove that your wrong? I can always tell someone who doesn't watch boxing, they always generalize a whole sport.

 

[SKYNET]