LONDON – Deontay Wilder has blamed his heavy and elaborate ring
walk costume after losing the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight
title to Britain's Tyson Fury.
It was Wilder's first loss in 44 professional fights as the
34-year-old was knocked down in the third and fifth rounds before
Wilder's corner stopped the fight by throwing in the towel in the
seventh round on Saturday.
Wilder came to the ring in an all-black costume that consisted of a
plate of armour, a mask and a crown weighing at least 18 kilos in a
tribute to Black History Month.
"Fury didn't hurt me at all, but the simple fact is that my uniform
was way too heavy for me," Wilder told Yahoo Sport late Monday.
"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.
"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."
Wilder added that he is disappointed in trainer Mark Breland for
throwing in the towel.
"I am upset with Mark for the simple fact that we've talked about
this many times and it's not emotional," he said.
"I told my team to to never throw the towel in with me because I'm a
special kind. I still had five rounds left. I was still in the
fight."
Wilder now has 30 days to decide if he wants to fight Fury for a
third time as stipulated in the contract between the two
heavyweights.