Dillian Whyte: Jake Paul fight not bad for boxing but Mike Tyson shouldn’t fight again

Dillian Whyte says Mike Tyson has nothing left to prove and should never fight again after his latest bout with Jake Paul “brought a lot of new fans” to boxing.

Tyson, 58, lost via unanimous decision to YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul after eight two-minute rounds in Texas, 19 years after his last professional fight against Kevin McBride.

The former undisputed world heavyweight champion initially appeared to leave the door open for future bouts before posting on X suggesting he will now retire after being able to perform in front of his family, while revealing he “almost died” in June.

“I don’t think it’s bad for boxing at all because Jake brought a lot of new fans to the game,” said Whyte, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News.

“Obviously, we know it’s a YouTuber versus an old legend in Mike Tyson, but I think it’s good for boxing because if we can keep at least five million of the fans, then that’s five more million new fans for hardcore boxing which is great.

“Personally, I think it’s a massive achievement for Mike. The fight motivated him to get into great shape and get healthy which I think added 10 years to his life, that’s a positive.

“A lot of these guys retire and they stop training, they get a lot of illnesses but obviously the fight motivated Mike to get his life back and get healthy.

“So for me, I’m not against it. If someone does something positive and doesn’t hurt anyone in the process of it and makes money doing it, I’m not against that at all.”

After his first competitive bout in 19 years, Tyson refused to rule out another bout, naming Jake Paul’s brother Logan as a potential opponent.

But Whyte vehemently disagreed with the notion of Tyson potentially getting back in the ring

“No, I don’t think he should fight again,” Whyte said.

“Boxing is quite addictive but I think Mike should call it a day.

“He doesn’t need to achieve anything anymore. He doesn’t need to try and prove anything to anyone.

“He said he was trying to prove to his kids that he is a special person. He doesn’t need to prove anything. He should just retire now.

“He’s had a good run, he got himself healthy and he should just leave it now.”

Whyte: I’ve missed being involved in the big fights

Whyte, a former WBC interim heavyweight champion, will resume his own career against Ebenezer Tetteh on December 15.

“I’m good, I’m happy. It’s good to be back in that positive light and potentially be back in the mix against the big heavyweights,” said Whyte, who is fighting in Gibraltar, the scene of his rematch win over Alexander Povetkin.

“I’ve missed it. I’ve had some time off but now I realise how much I miss being involved in the big fights.

“We’re going against a decent guy. He’s got a 23-1 record. He’s only lost to Daniel Dubois so I’ve got to take it serious, and I’ve got to train and prepare myself, mentally and physically.

“I’ve been off for a while and he’s had a few fights since then and look what Dubois did to Anthony Joshua. Now he’s world champion, so you can’t take someone like that lightly.

“He [Tetteh] is a big guy and he’s used to winning. He knows a win against me is massive. He’s going to prepare and he’s going to come ready for a war.”

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