Mike Tyson back in the ring? Why those words alone are a massive win

The initial reaction of many longtime boxing fans to the news of Mike Tyson fighting Jake Paul on Netflix in July was likely: he’s doing what?

This is Mike Tyson. He’s a boxing immortal. There are few fighters in history who inspired more fear among his fellow boxers, and infatuation among the public, than Tyson. He also wasn’t just a brute which is a common misconception. Tyson was studious and a diligent worker. He was, in many ways, extraordinarily old school. The bobbing and weaving side to side was something from the 1950s but it provided additional leverage and another dimension to his brutality.

He’s on the Mount Rushmore of boxing. If you don’t know or remember him, you missed out on some of the greatest boxing experiences of all time. For an older boxing generation, Tyson is a boxing god.

So why in the hell is he fighting Paul? This is the boxing equivalent of Barry Sanders, who is 55, playing now against Kansas City.

The easy answer to why Tyson is doing this has to do with a bag of cash. A gigantic bag of cash that is so cash-y and gigantic he could bankroll Hangover 4. There’s definitely, and obviously, a money component to this.

I came here originally to blast Tyson for not showing the kind of respect for the sport he helped build. Then an incredibly smart USA TODAY Sports colleague said something that resonated: ‘It would be easy to write a ‘get off my boxing lawn’ column and how this is a mockery. Don’t take the bait!’

You know what? He was right. In fact, the more you think about it, the more this is actually a good move for Tyson. In many ways, Tyson has already won this fight. Here’s why.

The biggest reason has to do with boxing itself. I covered a number of Tyson’s fights, and watched many others, and while boxing has always had issues with controversies and sometimes just flat out corruption, those days of the sport were genuinely lively and entertaining. There were definitely problems but the 1980s and 1990s, when Tyson dominated, were some of boxing’s best days.

Those days are long gone and have been for some time. Boxing, as a great sport, died decades ago. It’s now a patchwork that includes good fighters, carnival barkers, and internet goofs.

In the ring, however, Tyson’s fight against Paul will provide an opportunity to remind people of both the great past of boxing, and the great past of Tyson himself. People who aren’t as familiar with Tyson will Google and YouTube his past fights, see the footage, the highs and lows, the training, the historic wins, like when he knocked out Michael Spinks in the first round, and was on the losing end of one of the greatest upsets in the history of sports when he lost to Buster Douglas.

If Tyson wins, you’d have someone in their late 50s beating a fighter decades younger. If Tyson gets blasted, it wouldn’t change what he was, which was a staggeringly talented fighter. Again, win-win.

In the end, people who don’t know about Tyson will learn about him as a fighter, and that’s a good thing.

“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time,” Paul said. “This will be the fight of a lifetime.”

“He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a kid can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT,” Tyson said. “It’s a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; as I started him on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him.”

How will this fight go? Tyson might surprise people but no matter what happens, he’s already won.