Deontay Wilder will give himself a chance of beating Tyson Fury in a third fight only if he acknowledges his own culpability in their second fight and builds from there.
That’s the take of Mike Tyson, who acknowledged in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that he played the blame game after his own setbacks and didn’t take personal responsibility.
Wilder was criticized after he blamed his seventh-round knockout loss against Fury this past February at least in part of a heavy ring-walk costume, which the former heavyweight champ said weakened his legs.
“Wilder’s stuff’s a lot of [the same] energy that I once had,” Tyson said. “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.”
Wilder has exercised a clause in his rematch contract with Fury that allows for a third fight, although it’s not clear when that fight might take place given the uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic.
Yahoo! Sports asked Tyson whether Wilder can beat Fury.
“I don’t know anything about beating Fury in the third fight,” he said. “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.”