Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder entered their heavyweight title fight very differently.
Fury was carried out on a throne flanked by models. Wilder come out under his own power in elaborate get-up to celebrate Black History Month
Wilder blames his costume for his loss.
Deontay Wilder has blamed his elaborate ring-walk costume for his WBC heavyweight title defeat by Tyson Fury.
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 24, 2020
This is what he's said in full: https://t.co/5lgo9rWvft #bbcboxing #WildervsFury2 #Wilder #FuryWilder2 pic.twitter.com/kUOHnvWnf3
“He didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is ... that my uniform was way too heavy for me,” Wilder told Yahoo Sports by telephone. “I didn’t have no legs from the beginning of the fight. In the third round, my legs were just shot all the way through. But I’m a warrior and people know that I’m a warrior. It could easily be told that I didn’t have legs or anything. A lot of people were telling me, ‘It looked like something was wrong with you.’ Something was, but when you’re in the ring, you have to bluff a lot of things. I tried my best to do so. I knew I didn’t have the legs because of my uniform.
“I was only able to put it on [for the first time] the night before but I didn’t think it was going to be that heavy. It weighed 40, 40-some pounds with the helmet and all the batteries. I wanted my tribute to be great for Black History Month. I wanted it to be good and I guess I put that before anything.”
Wilder added he was pissed at his corner for throwing in the towel in the seventh round. (Although most folks who watched the fight concluded it was a good idea for them to end it.) He also said he will trigger his rematch clause with Fury and make it a trilogy.
The fight shouldn't be in February for Wilder's own good.
Do you buy Wilder's excuse?