Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is a big fan of social media star turned boxer, Jake Paul.

Paul (5-0, 4 KOs) scored a brutal knockout of NBA veteran Nate Robinson on the undercard of Tyson's exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.

Back in December, Paul was scheduled to face his first pro boxer in the ring - unbeaten light heavyweight prospect Tommy Fury, who is the younger brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Less than two weeks before the fight, Fury withdrew with a broken rib and a chest infection.

Fury was replaced by former UFC champion Tyron Woodley - who Paul sensationally knocked out with a single punch.

Tyson would like to see Paul in the ring with an actual pro boxer.

However, he cautions that a lot of boxers will underestimate Paul's abilities in the ring.

“I think he should too [fight a boxer], but these guys are very emotional and they want him to fight him so bad they forget that he’s a trained fighter," Tyson told former NFL star Shannon Sharpe:

“He’s going to make them believe that they can really beat this guy because he’s white with blonde hair and blue eyes, and then they go in the ring and something different happens.”

Unlike a lot of critics, Tyson believes Paul has given the sport a big boost by securing a different audience to follow the sport.

“We started a genre and now we’ve got guys like [Jake] Paul doing this stuff. I think [Jake] Paul is a big shot in the arm for boxing," Tyson said.

"No boxer has ever brought that many people to the network like [Jake] Paul did and I think he’s good for boxing, he brings money to boxing."

Paul is planning to fight again before the year is over. There are several fighters in the running to face him - like former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.