He was not payed to loose, or at least did not have to be. He is 60, the biggest controversy here is that he was allowed in a ring by a commission that does not give a fuck. Almost everyone in the boxing world expected JP to win, and he was probably going soft on Tyson too.

Everyone wanted that, but also everyone in the boxing scene did not give him much chance, the “bad Mike is back” narrative was mostly for an audience that is not usually involved into combat sports but vaguely remembers his name.
Not as bad as Holyfield, but still criminal a commission allowed it.