Dillian Whyte couldn’t resist.

When asked about WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman stating that he would rank Mike Tyson if the long-retired former champion launched a comeback, Whyte made light of his plight as the WBC’s mandatory heavyweight contender.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if he gave my number one, if he gave my mandatory to Mike Tyson, to be honest,” Whyte said during a recent appearance on “The Ak And Barak Show,” which DAZN and SiriusXM stream daily. “I wouldn’t be shocked.”

London’s Whyte has been the WBC’s number one contender for more than 2½ years. Sulaiman maintains that Whyte didn’t actually become the WBC’s mandatory challenger for the title now owned by Tyson Fury until Whyte defeated Colombia’s Oscar Rivas by unanimous decision in their 12-round fight for the WBC’s interim title last July 20 at O2 Arena in London.

Regardless, Whyte believes it’s an awful idea for Tyson to return to the boxing. Tyson, who’ll turn 54 on June 30, has teased a return to the ring in a serious of videos posted on social media over the past couple months.

“That’s silly, you know?,” Whyte said. “Someone like [Sulaiman] should not be encouraging a living legend like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield to come back to the ring. These guys are old guys. They may be in shape, they may look strong, they may put up good, 15, 20-second, one-minute videos of them training. But yo, you ain’t gonna fight no young man for 12 three-minute rounds, standing in the ring. Like dude, you’re 50.

“Like, you haven’t lived the best life. You know, you’ve abused your body and you’ve abused [yourself] physically and mentally. This ain’t no joke. These guys can die in the ring. It ain’t no joke. You know, Mauricio shouldn’t be encouraging [their comebacks]. Just encourage him, ‘Yo, you’re a living legend. Pass your knowledge on to the younger guys and help some young guys. Don’t come back. Like, forget it. Just relax, man.’ ”

The notorious Tyson hasn’t fought since he declined to answer the bell for the seventh round of a fight 15 years ago against Kevin McBride in Washington, D.C. Ten months before suffering that technical-knockout defeat to McBride in June 2005, British underdog Danny Williams knocked out Tyson in the fourth round of their fight in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tyson and the 57-year-old Holyfield, who’ve become friends since they retired, have talked recently about competing in an exhibition that would help raise money for charity. When the 32-year-old Whyte was asked if he’d fight Tyson in a bout that counts, Whyte didn’t deny that he would have to consider it for financial and historic reasons.

“It’s easy for me to sit here and say, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t fight him. I wouldn’t be interested in a fight with him,’ ” Whyte said. “But, you know, I would take a fight and whoop his ass, just to say, ‘Yo, I beat Mike Tyson.’ I don’t care if he’s 200 years old. You know, because growing up, Mike was the man.”

When reminded that he already had said Tyson shouldn’t box in a legitimate fight at his advanced age, Whyte reiterated what he initially stated.

“I’m just saying,” Whyte said. “I’m just saying. I’m just saying. That’s right. I’m trying to get this bread, but you know, I just think Mike just needs to chill. It’s all good. Evander Holyfield looks even worse. Evander Holyfield, he just looks slow. … You know, them guys had hard fights. Them guys had real heavyweight fights. Evander Holyfield, I think he should be higher ranked than Mike Tyson in history because Evander Holyfield, look, I’m gonna give flat – look, Evander Holyfield fought everyone. He fought Lennox Lewis. He fought Mike Tyson. He fought Michael Moorer. He fought Riddick Bowe. He fought George Foreman.

“Mike Tyson didn’t even fought all those guys. You know, Evander Holyfield fought Bert Cooper. You know, Mike only fought Lennox Lewis, and he lost to Lennox. I believe Evander Holyfield, there’s a case saying that he won both fights against Lennox Lewis. You know?”

Lewis and Holyfield fought to an infamous split draw in March 1999, a 12-round fight Lewis clearly deserved to win at Madison Square Garden in New York. England’s Lewis won their 12-round rematch, which was a much closer contest, by unanimous decision in November 1999 at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) is supposed to fight former WBA champ Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs) sometime in August on the grounds of Matchroom Boxing’s headquarters in Brentwood, England. Their 12-round fight for Whyte’s WBC interim title already has been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.