Mike Tyson, Jake Paul Likely To Earn $30-40M, Ex-Showtime boss Says

Stephen Espinoza ran Showtime Sports and oversaw the two biggest PPV boxing matches ever -- Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd vs. Conor McGregor -- so, we asked the former C-suite exec how much money Jake Paul and Mike Tyson would earn Friday night.

"I think it's realistic to expect that both of them will each make $30 to $40 million each," Espinoza told TMZ Sports on Thursday ... adding they could make substantially more.

And, we're not just talking about huge checks for Jake and Mike ... Stephen also believes Jerry's World will rake in more than ever before on a fight night.

"The gate will very likely set a record for AT&T Stadium. The biggest combat sports gate there was $9 million. It looks like this event is going to do somewhere around $14 to $15 million."

Of course, 58-year-old Tyson and 27-year-old Paul are the major attraction ... a fight that's been a year in the making.

Espinoza knows all about making massive fights ... and he believes this could ultimately be, with Netflix's huge subscriber base, the most-viewed fight of all time.

"There's a different structure here because there's not the pay-per-view price tag attached and because it's literally a simultaneous worldwide live exhibit. There's the potential that this could be the most-watched fight ever," Stephen said.