Deontay Wilde, Tyson Fury © Joe Camporeale USA TODAY Sports

Deontay Wilder has bizarre excuse for his loss to Tyson Fury

“He didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is..."

After a tough, one-sided loss, Deontay Wilder now has an excuse for why he was dominated by Tyson Fury. 

The much-anticipated boxing rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury went down this weekend. While the first ended in a controversial draw, the judges were completely taken out of the equation. Fury pressed Wilder from the opening bell, dropping him twice, and finally forcing the American’s corner to throw in the towel in the seventh round. Wilder has an odd excuse for his loss to Fury, however.

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In a recent interview made after the fight, Wilder claims that the elaborate costume he wore during his entrance to the fight was to blame for the loss.

“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. “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.”

Many in the combat sports community have met this excuse with ridicule and scepticism. Wilder has said that he will be exercising his right to rematch Fury. Surely he will pick a more practical costume to wear to the ring if and when he battles Fury a third time.

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With roots in muay thai and as an avid combat sports fan, Sebastian Vendel-Martinez grew up while the MMA scene was blossoming in Sweden. He became part of the MMAnytt team in 2012 and has gone on to become one of the most prominent MMA reporters in Scandinavia. Currently he continues to work as a writer, reporter, video producer/editor and head editor for MMAnytt.com