The former heavyweight world champion - who runs the cannabis company Tyson 2.0 and has other entertainment ventures - will take on the YouTuber on July 20, with the fight aired live on Netflix, and he's said to see it as an opportunity to make money and get "huge exposure" for his business, and has no concerns about it tarnishing his brand.
An associate of Tyson told The Mirror: "Mike's job is to sell the fight...that is why you are seeing these boxing videos making him look very menacing and as powerful as before.
"Let's be honest here. Mike is doing this for the payday. It is a huge global event and gives him and his businesses huge exposure.
"He feels that this bout is not really connected to his career and momentous feats in the 1980s. While fans may think he is still that killer who destroyed so many men, this is more of a 'sparring' experience.
"Jake and he have been working on this for a while with the hope of doing it as a pay-per-view at one time. They and their teams had shopped it to many outlets working on getting a huge payday, but not everyone bought the concept or the appeal.
"Netflix did and it's a $40 million deal in total. It is another step into sport for them and a bit of a test too to see what numbers it draws."
Despite this, he is afraid of stepping into the ring against his younger opponent.
Tyson told Fox News: "I have a weird personality - I don't think it's weird though. Whatever I'm afraid to do, I do it. That's how it is. I was afraid of the Roy Jones Jr. fight (in 2020).
"I was 100 pounds overweight, I was however old, 54, 53, and I said ‘Let’s do it.' Anything I'm afraid of, I confront it. That's my personality. Right now, I'm scared to death."
However, Iron Mike admits that the feelings of fear inspire him to continue competing.
He said: "I always believed that adversity and nervousness pretty much catapulted me into success. If I didn't have these feelings, I wouldn't go into this fight. I have to have these feelings to fight. Without them, I would never go in the ring."
Tyson confirmed that the controversial bout will be an exhibition - but in name only.
He said: "This is called an exhibition, but if you look up 'exhibition' you will not see any of the rules we'll be fighting under. This is a fight."
The boxing legend also says that his opponent - who has won nine out of his ten professional fights so far - has come "a long way from YouTubing".
Tyson explained: "I saw a YouTube of him at 16 doing weird dances. That's not the guy I'm gonna be fighting.
"This guy is gonna come, he's gonna try to hurt me, which I'm accustomed to, and he's gonna be greatly mistaken."
