Dustin Poirier won’t be enthusiastically cheering on Mike Tyson’s return to the ring.
Were it up to Poirier, Tyson wouldn’t be anywhere near his upcoming Nov. 15 boxing match with Jake Paul, a heavily promoted event set to air live on Netflix from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Tyson and Paul were actually supposed to fight on July 20, but the bout was postponed after health problems interfered with the 58-year-old Tyson’s preparation for the bout.
Poirier doesn’t understand why the bout hasn’t just been cancelled outright.
“I didn’t want that to happen,” Poirier said recently on The MMA Hour. “The guy is 60 years old. I didn’t want that to happen. And I hope it doesn’t. I don’t want to see Tyson go out there and get hurt. He’s 60 years old and he’s fighting a young guy who is athletic and has the money to put the best people around him and build a camp. He’s dangerous. I don’t have anything against [Paul]. I went to the [Tyron] Woodley [fight].”
In 11 pro boxing bouts, Paul has compiled a 10-1 record while drawing massive attention in the combat sports world. Paul, 27, went from being a YouTube star and social media influencer to pro boxer in 2020, and quickly made a name for himself by picking out opponents with notable names and little boxing experience. After a viral knockout of three-time NBA dunk champion Nate Robinson, Paul went on to defeat retired MMA standout Ben Askren and former UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva.
Paul has won four straight fights, including a sixth-round knockout of BKFC star Mike Perry on Saturday at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
Poirier has kept his eye on the bare-knuckle scene, both MMA and boxing versions, and he’s willing to get in the ring without gloves if the price is right.
“I think [bare-knuckle MMA is] a more a pure way of fighting,” Poirier said. “I think chokes will be easier, grappling will be easier with no gloves. I’d have to get paid. You’re going to get cut up 100 percent, no matter how you fight defensively, you’re going to cut probably.
“I’ve been to a few in person and watching it and being there up close to the ring is two different things. It’s brutal up close. You can hear the knuckles bouncing off the skull, it’s nasty.”
In his most recent fight, Poirier was defeated by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 this past June. It was Poirier’s third time vying for the undisputed title, and since the loss, the 35-year-old has discussed the possibility of retirement, though he has not given any definitive indication that he won’t fight again.
Poirier, like many of his veteran peers, would certainly entertain a move to boxing of the opportunity arose.
“I would love to [box],” Poirier said. “That would be fun and exciting. ... Just a change of speeds, different training camp, just something different. I’ve been doing MMA a while. I still love the training camps and love fighting, but to go to purely boxing, the whole training camp would be a lot less wearing on my body. No wrestling, no jiu-jitsu, running, swimming, that’s fun.
“I’d box Nate [Diaz]. ... I’d rather [fight] Nate in boxing, I think.”
