Mike Tyson once said Tyson Fury is the greatest boxing champion since himself and believes he can 'say what he wants to say'.
Fury has turned his life around in recent years and become a key figure in British sport, with one notable contribution being his openness on mental health.
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But the self-proclaimed 'Gypsy King' has his critics for his personal views and 'Iron Mike' offered his support.
"You can say what you want about Tyson Fury, make fun of him, but there's one guy in the US named Michael Gerard Tyson who's so proud he has my name," the 53-year-old stated per Eurosport.
"We're all laughing at him, laughing about him, but I'm on an ego trip. I'm sky high.
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"The heavyweight champion of the world got my name. He is the best heavyweight champion of the world since myself.
"He is the man, I don't care what anybody says."
The former world heavyweight champion then addressed Fury's personality outside of the ring and claimed he can believe whatever he wants.
"I know this is going to sound ignorant, he can say what he wants to say," he added.
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"You know who are going to look up to him? The people who never thought they had a chance in their life.
"Are you nuts? Are you out of your mind? People who want to be junkies, they're going to look up to him. I'm so proud of him, man."
Fury is the current WBC heavyweight champion after handing longtime rival Deontay Wilder the first defeat of his career back in February.
He took a swipe at the 'Bronze Bomber' recently after Wilder's comments on Tyson, with Wilder claiming he could have knocked out 'The Baddest Man on the Planet'.
I started the regain mission to become heavyweight champion of the world again," Fury told WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman in an interview.
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"I phoned up my trainer and said I was ready to train now, I phoned up Frank Warren and said I was ready to make a comeback and he said, 'Yeah, we'll power the comeback.'
"That day I got my sweatsuit on and I intended to jog one mile, just one, and I didn't get half a mile without stopping.
"I stopped and I walked, and as I was walking I was looking on Instagram of some videos and I saw a video that Deontay Wilder had done and he said that he could knock out Mike Tyson in one round in his heyday.
"And I thought this is disrespectful because Mike Tyson is 50-odd years old, Deontay Wilder is a young champion in his era.
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"And I thought you know what, for that one comment, I'm going to come back and knock you out.
"And he also said some stuff about me as well, he's fat, he'll never make a comeback, he's too far gone.
"So I actually owe Deontay Wilder for bringing me back and giving me more inspiration to return, as well as God, and I never stopped."
Featured Image Credit: PA ImagesTopics: Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury, Boxing News, Boxing, Deontay Wilder