Imagine Linford Christie, once a champion sprinter, attempting to compete for Olympic gold at 64 years old. That’s about as realistic as expecting Mike Tyson, now 58, to recapture his prime when he returns to the boxing ring.
Christie was a world-class sprinter in the 1980s and 1990s. He won a silver medal for Great Britain in the 100 meters and in the 100-meter relay at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. He returned at the 1992 Games in Barcleona, Spain, to win gold in the 100, becoming the oldest 100 meters champion in Olympic history at 32 years, three months and 30 days old.
Christie also won gold in the 100 in the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
Christie was a great athlete, but no reasonable person would think he could compete for a gold now, at 64 years old. Oblique Seville finished last in the 100 at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a time of 9.91 seconds.
You'd scoff at it if someone suggested Christie could defeat Seville in the 100 on Friday.
George Long/Imagn Images
Linford Christie celebrates after becoming at 32 the oldest man to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters. He did it at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Yet for some reason, so many people believe that Tyson can somehow be on Friday what he was at 25 when at 58 he boxes Jake Paul. Boxing is a risky sport for the greatest among us. We know so much more about traumatic brain injuries now than we did during Tyson's prime, and all that knowledge tells us it's incredibly dangerous for a 58-year-old to box.
Nonetheless, Paul and Tyson will fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in a bout streamed globally to Netflix's 283 million subscribers.
The 27-year-old Paul is, if the truth be told, little more than a mid-level boxer, at best. But Paul was a multi-millionaire long before he ever pulled on a pair of boxing gloves in part because he had this instinctive feel for how to elicit emotions in people. He knows how to make them laugh, or get them angry, or make them sad or happy.
Paul's a marquee name in boxing
He used that skill to make himself one of YouTube's biggest stars, and it's translated nicely into boxing. He's used his ability to manipulate your emotions to make himself one of the biggest names in boxing.
He's not remotely close to being an elite boxer; he just plays one on TV. But he's right there with the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Naoya Inoue and maybe Gervonta Davis when it comes to being one of the sport's marquee names.
If Paul isn't even in terms of profile with those boxers, he's not far behind. And his profile is about to get significantly bigger when he meets Tyson.
Tyson is one of the biggest names in the history of boxing, perhaps the second-biggest ever behind only Muhammad Ali. He's also right there alongside George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, Sonny Liston, Joe Louis and Deontay Wilder as the hardest punchers ever lived.
Paul has talked a lot of smack and during Wednesday's final news conference was walking up and down the dais, offering to bet large sums with fighters on the card who think Tyson will defeat him.
Unconcerned about Tyson's power
He brushed off Tyson's legendary punching power as no factor in Friday's bout. When Paul was asked about the vintage Tyson, who won the heavyweight championship at 20 years old, he sneered.
Tyson's punching power is so epic that Michael Spinks' knees turned to jelly and he was refusing to leave the locker room when he faced Tyson in 1988. Tyson stopped him in 91 seconds, and Spinks is one of the greatest to ever climb into a boxing ring.
Yet, Paul would have you believe that despite his modest skills, he would be eager to test himself against that version of Tyson.
"I fear no man," Paul said. "So I want him to be that old savage Mike. He says he's going to kill me. I'm ready. I want that killer. I want the hardest match possible Friday night, and I want there to be no excuses from everyone at home when I knock him out."
Uh huh.
Both men have made their share of outrageous statements leading into the fight. One of the problems is, people believe them.
Boxing is simply another form of entertainment, just like movies, music, theater and stand-up comedy. The suspension of disbelief is often required when watching a movie. And it's going to be required to watch Paul fight Tyson.
Seniors shouldn't be boxing
Let's say this for the 500th time: 58-year-old people have no business competing in professional boxing. Boxing is a dangerous game for the young, the hale and the hearty, let alone for a 58-year-old who is more than 20 years removed from his last win and 28 years since his last win in a title fight.
As Paul's built his name in boxing, he's done it by assiduously avoiding anyone with either a pulse or a slice of boxing talent.
There are people convinced, though, that Tyson is still the fearsome man who knocked Trevor Berbick down twice with the same punch en route to becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
There are many convinced Paul is going to fight Alvarez next. Not even the lenient Texas commission would approve Alvarez against Paul.
Watching this fight requires a suspension of disbelief. Remember that David Copperfield didn't actually make the Statue of Liberty disappear.
It's entertainment, and I get it, and I would be OK with it if I could be guaranteed of two things: One, that the 58-year-old athlete doesn't get hurt and that it doesn't start a flood of other long retired boxers (most of whom desperately need money) to come out of retirement and follow Tyson's lead.
It's serious stuff
It's all fun and games -- and millions of dollars -- until someone suffers a serious injury. Let's not forget Duk Koo Kim and Robert Wangila and Martin Sanchez and Leavander Johnson and Pedro Alcazar and Jimmy Garcia and Maxim Dadashev and Patrick Day, all men who lost their lives due to injuries in the ring. None of them were near 58.
That's the eventuality no one wants to think about. This isn't a movie, though; it's not Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty or an elephant vanish in front of our eyes.
Tyson qualifies for Social Security in less than four years.
Is a guy who is less than four years away from qualifying for Social Security the type we want to see getting punched upside the head on our television screens.
If Tyson, or someone like him who follows in his footsteps, suffers a brain injury, we know whose hands the blood is on. The audience likely will be massive on Friday.
At what cost are we willing to suspend disbelief? What are a couple of hours of entertainment worth?
Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions
Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is one of the biggest stars in boxing history.