Mike Tyson is still the most popular fighter in the world. An iconic figure that transcends the sport, Tyson is a global superstar even nearly twenty years after his retirement. And now it seems he has decided to leverage that popularity to earn a lot of money at the potential expense of his health. ‘Iron Mike’ will face celebrity boxer Jake Paul, three decades younger and in his athletic prime, on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which is expected to end in disaster for the former heavyweight champion. Paul has come under heavy criticism from fans as they believe Tyson has no chance against him.

However, this is not the first time Tyson has been back in the ring since his retirement in 2005, as he fought former multiple division champion and one of the greatest boxers of all time, Roy Jones Jr. (who himself was 51 at the time) in 2020. Dana White, who tried to keep his friend Tyson from fighting the last time around, shared his unsuccessful attempt at doing so and gave his thoughts on the upcoming fight.

Dana White reveals how trying to stop Mike Tyson from fighting backfired

Dana White appeared on the ‘Pound 4 Pound Podcast’ with former champions Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, who asked the UFC CEO about his thoughts on the upcoming fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.

White was concerned about the age difference between them, but didn’t pass judgment on the bout, saying “Mike’s a grown a** man, he can do whatever the f**k he wants and I’m gonna stay out of it.” White recalled that his attempts to prevent Tyson from fighting against Roy Jones Jr. had ended disastrously and hinted this might be why he is not going to dissuade him this time around.

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The UFC CEO recalled having gotten Tyson a stint on Discover’s Shark Week so the former champion could earn some money and hopefully not have to fight Jones. However, this turned out disastrously as Tyson apparently got testy with the cast and crew of the show.

“So Mike was gonna fight the Roy Jones fight and I was all f***ing bummed out, didn’t want him to fight and all this sh**. I said listen yeah Mike I’ll f***ing get you other sh** to make money. So I put him on shark week, oh I know you heard the story. He goes down there and he almost f***ing killed everybody on the set the day that he had to get in the water with the sharks,” White said. While Tyson’s upcoming fight may have invited widespread criticism, one important figure has spoken in defense of the bout.

Tyson Fury thinks the fight is good for boxing

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, named after Mike Tyson, came out in defense of his namesake and felt that the fight was a “pretty even match” given that ‘The Problem Child’ was a popular guy who had a dedicated fanbase willing to buy his fights.

Mike Tyson, of course, is the most popular boxer alive in the world at the moment and Fury felt that despite all the criticism, people would tune in to watch them fight given what they will bring to the table. In addition, ‘The Gypsy King’ felt that the fight would be good for the sport of boxing as it would attract a lot of eyeballs.

“You’ve got a legend in Mike Tyson and you’ve got a YouTube boxer who’s come into the game and blew it up… It brings a lot of people to the game,” Fury said in a recent interview. What do you think about Fury’s comments?

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