Dana White called Jake Paul‘s fight against former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson ‘f***ing ridiculous.’
The upcoming bout, which was postponed after the 57-year-old suffered a medical emergency on a cross-country flight, was scheduled to take place in Texas next month.
The UFC boss laughed off any notion that he was involved in organizing the hotly-anticipated match during an appearance on the Flagrant podcast, which dropped Wednesday.
‘God, no,’ White said, when asked if he had anything to do with it.
‘When this fight happens, Tyson will be 58 f***ing years old. A ***ing almost 60-year-old man shouldn’t be fighting a 27-year-old guy. Under any circumstances. Even if it’s Mike Tyson. It’s just f***king ridiculous,’ he continued.
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Dana White laughed off any notion that he was involved in the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul fight
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The UFC boss went so far as to call the since-postponed match ‘f***ing ridiculous’
The controversial CEO went on to reference Paul’s fight against Love Island alum Tommy Fury that he lost in a split decision last February.
‘My biggest problem with the Jake Paul thing and how this plays out is when he actually fought somebody who was a boxer, who had the same type of record he has, who was his age, who is his size, he f***ing lost. So, they’re never gonna go that f***ing route again, right?’ he said.
Tyson was forced to apologize to fans last week after he suffered an ulcer flare up, leading doctors to advise he postpone the bout until the Fall.
‘I want to thank my fans around the world for their support and understanding during this time,’ he said in a statement.
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The pair were set to face off on July 20, but a recent ulcer flare up left Tyson unable to train
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The Paul vs Tyson fight is reportedly under ‘genuine’ threat of never going ahead
Mike Tyson seen working out days before health scare
‘My body is in better overall shape than it has been since the 1990s and I will be back to my full training schedule soon. Jake Paul, this may have bought you some time, but in the end you will still be knocked out and out of boxing for good.’
Although organizers are reportedly exploring two possible new dates in mid-October and mid-November, Sports Illustrated reporter Chris Mannix claimed there was ‘genuine concern’ about whether Tyson will ever be able to fight Paul.
‘Mike Tyson is 57 years old; he’s almost 58 years old. They’re saying it’s a minor ulcer issue, but I don’t think anything’s minor at that stage of your life, especially when it comes to putting yourself in the proper shape to fight a professional boxing match,’ Mannix said during an appearance on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ Monday.
He went on, ‘There is genuine concern from people that are also on the card — I mean, there are another number of fights that are also on the card — about this specific card moving forward.’
‘It’s certainly not out of the question. But again, there are people involved who are expressing skepticism that this specific fight is going to move forward.’
