It’s purely a payday for them both, in a novelty match. Won’t be the first, won’t be the last of its ilk.
Although I think Mike (he says he doesn’t like ‘Iron’ Mike any more, the person he was) would like one last fight in the bright lights. Tyson can still earn from his public appearances, podcast/webcasts, speeches or Q&A fan sessions, so he really doesn’t need to fight.
I think he WANTS to. One last hurrah to get it out of his system, and feel the crowd adulation and expectant awe, one last time. He didn’t really get it against Roy Jones Jr, and I feel he wants one last big outing, with all the cameras and media attention it will bring.
The name Mike Tyson is still a positive boon, and he’ll be earning okay for a 20 year retired fighter. So I believe this is more a personal thing, a bit like what Ricky Hatton organised with Marco Antonio Barrera a couple of years ago. An exhibition contest, but with the hype and interest as if it was akin to their prime era. But it gave Hatton closure, to get that last fight and hyped crowd situation out of his system.
To hear ‘Blue Moon’ blasting out once again, and the home crowd chanting ‘There’s only one Ricky Hatton’ for the final time would have been exhillerating, bringing back all the old feelings of being a top rated fighter, with a frenzy of fans.
The volume on that side of a boxers life gets turned right down when they retire, and it can be hard when crowd adulation dissipates into distant echos.
It’s one of the problems Ali had with walking away from the sport when retirement should have been very much on the cards.
So I’m convinced Mike craves it, to simply drink it all in, in a way that he may have missed out on in the past, amidst all the madness back then.
And why not imo. It presents one final opportunity for Mike to feel like the Baddest man on the Planet one last time against a far younger, yet beatable and inferior, divisive but popular opponent.
I just hope both come out of it intact.