Deontay Wilder has blamed his elaborate ring walk costume for his technical knockout loss to fiercest rival, Tyson Fury.
This past Saturday night, the American knockout artist marched on his 11th straight title-retention attempt against Fury in their much-awaited rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Before the fight, Wilder paid tribute to Black History Month by sporting an all-black costume that weighed 45 pounds for his ring walk.
Unfortunately, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ suffered the first defeat of his boxing career as he found no answer to Fury’s offense en route to a seventh-round TKO loss.
The 6-foot-9 Fury also dropped him twice – first in the third round with a right hand at the temple and second in the fifth round with a body shot.
Wilder said in the post-fight interview he was dealing with some issues with his legs before the fight and now he is claiming it was his ring walk costume that weakened his legs.
Real Workout
In a recent interview with ESPN, the former WBC heavyweight champ said he felt like he had an intense workout going into the ring as his costume was too heavy.
“There were a lot of things that went wrong leading up to the fight, in the last minutes before the fight, but I accept full responsibility,” Wilder told ESPN.
“I paid a severe price because my legs were how they were because of my uniform. My uniform was way too heavy. It was 40-plus pounds.”
“We had it on 10 or 15 minutes before we even walked out and then put the helmet on. That was extra weight, then the ring walk, then going up the stairs.”
“It was like a real workout for my legs. When I took it off, I knew immediately that game has changed.”
Trilogy Bout
With his legs not in 100%, Wilder admitted the fight was over in the third round when he was knocked down by Fury with a powerful right hand, which opened a cut inside his left ear.
“I really let the designers freelance with it. It was really their idea,” Wilder continued.
“By the third round, I had no legs. I was completely done. My legs were gone. I had to step into survival mode very early.”
“But you know me — I’m going out on my shield. I’m a fighter. I’m a warrior. That’s what I do.”
Looking to come back stronger, Wilder confirmed a third fight with ‘The Gypsy King’ is going to happen as he is set to exercise his rematch clause.
“We’re definitely going to exercise it.”
“We’re looking forward to it. I’m a warrior and a true champion, and I fight like that every bit of the way.”
“We’re definitely going on with it. That’s for sure. By the summertime.”
(Featured Image Source: Twitter/ Boxing on BT Sport and Dan Leach)