Mike Tyson has questioned whether Deontay Wilder truly believes he can beat Tyson Fury, or if he’s looking for a “big pay day”.
The two fighters meet for the third time this weekend in Las Vegas, with Fury looking to defend his WBC world title after claiming it from Wilder during their last bout.
More than a year-and-a-half on from suffering the first defeat of his career, Wilder heads into Saturday’s fight as the outsider, although has been in bullish mood in the build-up, telling Fury his life “depends” on him preparing properly.
Heavyweight champion Tyson though has called Wilder’s motives into question, and believes the American will have to go all out if he’s to upset the odds.
“I like Wilder but is he going in there to win or is he going in there for a big pay day?” Tyson told ES News.
“They should go all out for five or six rounds. If you catch him, you catch him. Go all out, win or lose.”
Tyson’s comments come after the former champion admitted to seeing some of himself in Wilder following the Bronze Bomber’s comments following his defeat to Fury last year.
Wilder infamously made a number of excuses for his loss, including blaming the heavy costume he wore for his ring walk, and Tyson believes he now needs to accept his defeat if he’s to have any chance of beating Fury this weekend.
“Wilder’s stuff’s a lot of energy that I once had,” Tyson told Yahoo Sports.
“We have to be able to accept our mistakes, stand up and say, ‘Hey, I messed up, the best man won.’
“We can’t be consumed with our egos. Nobody was more consumed with their ego than me.
“We always look for excuses when we lose and say, ‘Well I couldn’t lose, there must’ve been a mistake, somebody had to cheat me.’
“So we have to look at the perspective that a loss is a form of education.
“I don’t know anything about beating Fury in the third fight.
“In order for him to do that, he’s gonna have to beat himself in life.
“He’s his biggest opponent at this moment in life. He is not gonna stand a chance with Fury if he doesn’t beat himself.”
