Deontay Wilder
Wilder believes the old era are not doing enough to support the new era of boxers Getty

KEY POINTS

  • Wilder created a stir when he recently claimed he would "kick the hell out of" Tyson.
  • The American believes boxing legends can do a better job of motivating the new era.
  • The "Bronze Bomber" also hit back at Tyson's hypocrisy.

The old era of boxing legends can do a better job of motivating the new era according to WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder as he continues to defend his Mike Tyson comments.

Tyson is regarded as arguably the greatest "fighter" in boxing, gaining notoriety for his early knockout wins and intimidating demeanour during his days as heavyweight champion of the world.

Wilder created a stir when he claimed he would "kick the hell out of" him if he met "Iron Mike" in his prime — comments that have since drawn heavy criticism from many in the boxing world.

Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis notably responded on Twitter, stating that the American had never been in the ring with someone as ferocious as Tyson and that there were "levels" to the game.

The "Bronze Bomber" however, would later defend his statement claiming he had all the physical attributes such as hand speed, height and movement among others to beat Tyson along with the fact that he was a new school fighter with a killer instinct.

Despite Wilder defending his comments, Tyson later stated he "talks so much s**t" when promoting his podcast and the 32-year-old believes the champions of the past are "hating" on the new generation but was not surprised to see Lewis defend his old rival.

"These past champions, what they should be doing is motivating the up-and-coming guys," Wilder said, as per CBS Sports. "They don't need to motivate me because I'm self-motivated. They don't need to give me convincing. But these other guys coming up, they should start a trend.

"Instead of hating on these guys coming for the top or worry about their legacy getting run over for what they did in their era, that era is gone! This is the new era over here!

"They should be praising the new guys like the other countries, where every other former champion is behind their people. But in America, it's different. Nobody wants to see nobody become bigger than the one before them. Nobody's legacy is going to be passed."

"Those guys are subject to their own opinion. I don't get upset when guys come and clap back and say certain things. I don't get upset when Lennox Lewis want to defend one of his era brothers. Although Lennox fought Tyson way past his prime, I don't find offense for that and it doesn't bother me."

Wilder, however, did point out the hypocrisy of Tyson. Following his initial comments, former champion Tyson Fury, named after the 51-year-old, responded to a fan on Twitter stating that if met Mike Tyson in the ring, he would get knocked out in the first round.

Tyson would then take to Twitter to show appreciation to the "Gypsy King" and advised him to show more confidence in himself which only perplexed Wilder.

"Tyson Fury, he did the opposite of me and said [Mike] Tyson would beat him," Wilder added. "And Tyson came out and said, 'Man, you need to have confidence'

"What? Isn't that what I just did? But I got criticised. It don't make no sense, but it's because it's me, which is OK."

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