Mike Tyson Backs Dana White’s Boxing Venture
Mike Tyson praised Dana White’s planned boxing venture in 2024, as MMA Fighting reported. White later launched Zuffa Boxing with TKO and Sela.
What Tyson endorsed
Tyson made the remarks on the It Is What It Is podcast as he prepared for his November 2024 sanctioned professional boxing match with Jake Paul. His point was that White’s UFC experience could bring a different approach to boxing promotion. It was support for a possible entrant, not a claim that White had already started a boxing league or a guarantee that any particular change would follow.
The original story listed improved matchmaking, fighter pay, production and a more centralized structure as possible outcomes. Those should be read as hopes attached to White’s planned involvement, not developments Tyson could promise. Boxing remains divided among independent promoters, sanctioning bodies and broadcasters, and a new company would need to show how its own practices affect fighters and the wider sport.
White’s boxing venture is now active
The situation changed in 2025 and 2026. UFC describes Zuffa Boxing as a professional boxing promotion formed by TKO and Sela, with Dana White among its leaders. Its event schedule began in 2026, and Paramount announced exclusive distribution of a full slate of events on Paramount+ beginning that January.
That makes Tyson’s 2024 remarks a view about a venture that has since become real. It does not confirm the predictions about pay, matchmaking or a centralized championship structure. Those questions require evidence from the promotion’s contracts, cards and results over time. The practical test is whether Zuffa Boxing consistently makes competitive bouts and creates meaningful opportunities for boxers.
Tyson’s praise is best understood as confidence in White’s ability to organize and sell fights. Zuffa Boxing now gives that idea a concrete setting, but the scale of its effect on boxing is still for the sport’s future to determine.
Sources
Tags: Boxing, Combat Sports
