If you were looking for betting advice from Andre Ward on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight ... search elsewhere -- the former boxing superstar tells TMZ Sports it's so close between the two, he has absolutely "no idea" how things will shake out.

The ex-champ broke it down for us on Thursday -- roughly 24 hours before Tyson and Paul will square off in Dallas on Netflix -- explaining that because of Tyson's age and background, the scrap is simply impossible to predict.

"If it's the average 58-year-old, you kind of, sort of know how this thing is going to go," Ward said. "But we're talking about Mike Tyson. If there's a 58-year-old that I'm not worried about, it's him."

Ward says what Paul's displayed in the ring over the last few years muddies up any sort of forecasting as well ... because he's improved to the point where he certainly could knock out Tyson on Friday night.

Ward tells us, though, watchers shouldn't have to wait long to figure it out -- he thinks by the third or the fourth round, it should start becoming apparent.

He said viewers will be able to clearly see Paul's punching prowess -- or if Tyson's tiring.

"Midway through," he said, "that'll give all of us the clear picture of how this fight is going."

Regardless of who comes out with the win, it's obvious Ward's super impressed with Iron Mike's prep -- telling us he was astounded by the shape he saw the legend in during their recent sit-down interview.