Deontay Wilder felt he could still continue fighting despite getting dominated by Tyson Fury through seven rounds.
The American knockout artist marched on his 11th straight title-retention attempt as he locked horns with Fury in their much-awaited rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Saturday night.
In the first meeting, Wilder believes the fight should have been stopped after he brutally sent Fury down the mat in the final round but his challenger rose from the dead in an unbelievable recovery.
Ahead of the rematch, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ promised there would be no getting up this time as he looked to land his powerful right hand again in a bid to secure a knockout win.
Coming off 10-straight successful defences, Wilder saw his win streak reaching its end as he found no answer to Fury’s boxing masterclass.
Complete Domination
In a battle of technique vs power, it was Fury’s technical skills that prevailed as he completely dominated the American champ through seven rounds, with Wilder failing to land his trademark powerful shots.
Wilder was knocked down twice for the first time in his career before his corner decided to throw in the towel in the seventh round, giving Fury the technical knockout win.
It was also the first time the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist lost a boxing fight in 44 professional bouts.
“A big shout out to Deontay Wilder,” Fury said in the post-fight interview.
“He came here tonight and he manned up. And he really did show the heart of a champion.”
“I hit him with a clean right that dropped him, and he got back up. He is a warrior. He will be back.”
“He will be a champion again. But I will say, the king has returned to the top of the throne!”
Coming Back Stronger
Meanwhile, Wilder revealed he had some issues with his legs going into the rematch but he doesn’t want it to be an excuse for the loss.
“I’m doing good you know, things like this happen. The best man won on the night.”
“But my coach, my side threw in the towel, and you know, I’m ready to go out on my shield.”
“I had a lot of things going on coming into this fight, but it is what it is. My leg was already weak coming in due to other little things. But, I make no excuses tonight.”
“I just wish that my corner would have let me went out on my shield. I’m a warrior, that’s what I do.”
“But he did what he did, there’s no excuses and we come back and be stronger.”
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