There's no way a 58-year-old man should be boxing, but Jake Paul saw dollar signs and got Mike Tyson to buy into his scheme

Let's assume for the moment that Jake Paul is a special talent, and that he's good enough to one day become a world champion, which he says is his dream.

Paul is already 27 and had no amateur career to speak of. As a pro, he's been moved very slowly in terms of the quality of his opposition in building his 10-1 record. He's fought three "real" boxers -- Tommy Fury, Andre August and Ryan Bourland -- and lost to Fury, who is the best of that motley crew but not all that good himself. Bourland had one fight in five years prior to meeting Paul. August had one fight in four years when he met Paul.

Paul, the social media influencer, insists he's serious about maximizing his boxing talents. After a win over ex-UFC fighter Mike Perry on July 16, Paul said he'd be a world champion within two years. 

The odds are stacked against him, but it'd be a great story if he pulled it off. If Paul got a world championship opportunity that he earned and wasn't given to him because of his millions of social media followers, it would bring enormous positive attention to a sport that needs it desperately.

Paul will turn 28 in January, and insists he's going to compete as an MMA fighter. Remember, he signed with the PFL last year. He hasn't fought MMA 19 months later, so if he's going to do that, he's going to spend plenty of time working on that. And if he does that, he won't be spending time on his boxing.

So ...

If we again take him at his word, it begs the question: What the hell is he doing fighting a 58-year-old Mike Tyson on Nov. 15 in Arlington, Texas, in a bout that will stream on Netflix? Time is not Paul's friend. He needs to pick up the quality of his opponents quickly in order to develop as a boxer.

Tyson is, other than Muhammad Ali, the biggest attraction in the history of the sport. HIs presence on this show, even at 58, will bring huge eyeballs and massive sponsorship dollars. Netflix undoubtedly paid a pretty penny to acquire its broadcast rights. Ticket sales will be enormous. There is a mystique that surrounds Tyson nearly 40 years after he first won the world title and nearly 30 years since his peak that is unlike that of any other active athlete.

Tyson's 2020 bout in Los Angeles with Roy Jones Jr. -- an exhibition, remember -- sold 1.6 million pay-per-view units.  That's one of the Top 15 combat sports pay-per-view sales numbers ever. 

Let's be honest: Paul is fighting Tyson for one reason: Money. He knows Tyson's name still carries clout with boxing fans, many of whom see clips of him at 58 hitting the mitts and conjure up memories of him devastating opponents like Marvis Frazier, Trevor Berbick, Carl Williams and Michael Spinks.

Paul was six months old on the night of "The Bite Fight," in Las Vegas, when Tyson twice bit Evander Holyfield on the ears.

Tyson hasn't been "Iron Mike" in a long time. He's in great shape for a 58-year-old, but no 58-year-old should be boxing. And when was the last time Tyson actually looked good in a fight? I'd venture to say it was on Feb. 22, 2003, when he knocked out Clifford Etienne in less than a minute in Memphis, Tenn. 

Forget the nonsense, then, that Paul believes he can be a world champion. If that was true, he'd be taking on elite cruiserweight prospects, not guys who won a world title when Ronald Reagan was president. When Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks in 1988, Tom Brady, who would go on to win seven Super Bowl championships, five Super Bowl MVP awards, three NFL MVP awards and become recognized as the greatest player in NFL history, was 10.

If you want to know why Jake Paul is fighting Mike Tyson, look at the people in the stands. Check out the logos on the mat. Imagine how much Netflix paid.

It has nothing at all to do with him as a boxer and everything to do with him as a businessman.

For Tyson's part, it's a no-lose situation. In a worst-case scenario, he gets knocked out. If that happens, so what? He's 58. 

But if he wins, he'll put himself in line for a few more exhibitions (even though the Paul fight is an officially sanctioned bout) which undoubtedly will pay well, but more importantly will get himself a lot more sponsorship opportunities.

At a New York news conference on Sunday, Tyson said he's fighting at 58 because, well, why not?

"I don't know," he said. "That's a funny question. [I’m doing it] because I can. Who else can do it but me? Just look at it. Who else is he going to fight to make [an event of this magnitude] happen?"

As Paul trash talked Tyson, the crowd began to chant in unison, "F*ck Jake Paul! F*ck Jake Paul!" It shows the incredible bond Tyson shares with the audience all these years later.

If Paul was a serious boxer, the only thing he'd be doing with Tyson is trying to pick his brain. He's an opportunist and a capitalist, though, and when he saw dollar signs, he leaped.

He's made his reputation fighting guys significantly smaller who are, for the most part, not boxers. He called out Nico Ali Walsh, a young middleweight who weighed 158 for his last two bouts. Why did Paul do that when he had a roughly 40-pound weight advantage? Well, Ali Walsh is the grandson of Muhammad Ali.

He's carrying other fighters, notably Amanda Serrano, on his coattails and helping them, so it's not even bothersome that he's fighting these freak show fights. The thing which is bothersome is Paul's pretending to be a real boxer. That's conning people under false pretenses.

He painted himself as a victim -- Don't they all do that? -- and tried to compare himself to Ali, which is galling in and of itself.

"At the end of the day, people are always going to have something to say," Paul said. "It's because of who I am. I proved everyone wrong. Reminder: The most hated and most criticized boxer in the sport of boxing before they loved them was Muhammad Ali. So I'm the anti-hero, and people will love me soon enough once they realize what I've done for this sport and who I truly am. But it doesn't bother me at the end of the day, because when you're at the top, people are clawing to rip you down. And that's just the way the game goes."

You want respect? Quit fighting MMA fighters and retired NBA players. Quit calling out fighters who weigh 40 pounds less. Quit meeting guys who are less than four years away from being able to collect Social Security and less than seven years away from qualifying for Medicare.

Instead, fight highly regarded prospects until it's time to take on contenders. And then, challenge the gifted contenders.

Then, we'll buy the argument that you're trying to win a world title. 

Until then, we'll see what you're doing as little more than a money grab, and using other people's fame to help you in the pursuit.