UFC President Dana White doesn’t think Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson is a very “serious” fight for one big reason.
During an appearance on Pound 4 Pound with Kamura Usman, White chimed in about Paul’s next bout against Mike Tyson scheduled for July 20 in Netflix’s first-ever live boxing event.
According to Dana, Jake Paul’s reason for fighting ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson all comes down to the money, since Tyson is serving as a draw to get eyeballs on the boxing match.
“I love Mike, and I hate talking about him because he always get mad at me when I talk about this stuff, but when the fight happens he’ll be 58-years-old. There will be a 31 year age difference,” White explained.
The UFC President further noted that when Paul did fight someone his age, he ended up being handed the only loss of his career via split decision to Tommy Fury.
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“If he beats Mike Tyson, he’s gonna fight Clint Eastwood next,” White joked. “Clint Eastwood’s 93-years-old.”
Usman went on to try to argue that fighters “always have a round left,” but noted that Jake Paul isn’t doing his best to be taken seriously as a fighter. White was quick to interrupt, claiming that ‘The Problem Child’ doesn’t have a desire to do so.
“He doesn’t [want to be taken seriously]. What Jake wants is Jake wants to make money. 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,” he added.
Jake Paul and Dana White are no strangers to each other, with the influencer frequently feuding with UFC boss over his demands for increased fighter pay. So far, Paul has yet to respond to Dana’s criticisms, but it’s unlikely that the influencer will remain silent on his concerns.