Dana White‘s potential, promised foray into boxing has Mike Tyson‘s full support. The former heavyweight champion joined Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo on the ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast. There he shared his thoughts on what the UFC CEO should do to succeed in the boxing game, which is vastly different from MMA.

The number one advice he had for White was to have ‘great’ matchmaking in a sport where fighters rarely take 50/50 fights and stars pad their resumes with tomato cans. If White can do that, he will not only make boxing exciting once again but also make a lot of money, according to ‘Iron Mike’.

“Listen I would love to give him some insights and everything. I always like to give him the insights. I think he’s going to do a good job I think so, I really do. If he gets the fights, the name of the game is to get the fighters and get the most money for the least risk, you know. He needs a great matchmaker, that’s what no one has now… They don’t know how to put great matches together, where the fight’s going to be exciting,” Tyson said.

Tyson has hit on something here. Matchmakers, after all, are but obsolete in boxing. Unlike MMA, stars hold all the power in this sport and do what is best for them, which is often at odds with what the fans want to see. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the biggest star in boxing at the moment, for example, has been ducking his WBC mandatory, David Benavidez, since last year.

Instead, he has chosen to fight no-name journeymen who have virtually no shot at beating him. Since the fighters and their team do all the matchmaking, there is no need for a matchmaker. Which may be different in ‘Zuffa Boxing’s case, based upon what kind of organization it turns out to be.

Why Mike Tyson’s advice could be crucial for Dana White’s foray into boxing

‘Zuffa Boxing’ may work along the lines of the UFC, with boxers being signed to it and fighting mostly other boxers within the promotion. This, of course, will be a huge shakeup in the boxing world since most fights here happen across promotions. Of course, Zuffa boxing may turn out to be just another boxing promotion of the kind that already exist in the sport.

If not, however, and it is indeed the former model, that would perhaps help make the sport a bit less top-heavy. After all, unless you have a golden pedigree and manage to sign with the blue-chip promotions as a boxer, you’re going to fight for pennies. God forbid you get a couple of losses, and you can almost surely kiss the prospect of fighting for a title or signing with the top promoters goodbye.

That is understandably why boxers are so reluctant to fight any tough opponents and protect their records with their lives. On the other hand, if there is a UFC-like organization in boxing, you could conceivably lose your ‘O’ and still have a shot at becoming champ or at least a superstar simply because you’re an exciting fighter who takes tough fights.

That is where the need for good matchmakers will come in, since they are the ones who can make sure fans get an exciting fight, the record or star power of the fighters notwithstanding. What do you think about Mike Tyson‘s advice for Dana White?