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Deontay Wilder Claims 40-Pound Entrance Costume Drained Him Before Fury Fight

Deontay Wilder Claims 40-Pound Entrance Costume Drained Him Before Fury Fight

The Bronze Bomber was defeated for the first time following a seventh round TKO on Saturday

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

Deontay Wilder claims the bulky costume he wore for his ring walk drained his legs before his fight against Tyson Fury on Saturday.

The Bronze Bomber lost his WBC heavyweight title and his undefeated record after his corner threw in the towel in the seventh round, with Fury dominating the fight from start to finish.

Fury took Wilder's title on Saturday.
PA

Now 34-year-old Wilder has claimed the elaborate and weighty costume he wore prior to the fight, as a tribute to Black History Month, left his legs 'shot' from the start of the bout.

Speaking to Yahoo Sports, he said: "He didn't hurt me at all, but the simple fact is that my uniform was way too heavy for me. 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 has blamed his entrance costume for draining him before the fight.
PA

Despite conceding that his legs were gone from the start of the fight, Wilder said he was angry that trainer Mark Breland had thrown in the towel. Citing his frequently reiterated claim he wants 'a body on his record,' Wilder said it followed that he should never throw in the towel.

He said: "I am upset with Mark for the simple fact that we've talked about this many times and it's not emotional. It is not an emotional thing, it's a principal thing.

"We've talked about this situation many, many years before this even happened. I said as a warrior, as a champion, as a leader, as a ruler, I want to go out on my shield. If I'm talking about going in and killing a man, I respect the same way. I abide by the same principal of receiving.

"So I told my team to never, ever, no matter what it may look like, to never throw the towel in with me because I'm a special kind. I still had five rounds left. No matter what it looked like, I was still in the fight."

So it seems unlikely Breland will be in his corner for a potential rematch against Fury, which Wilder said is 'definitely' going to happen.

According to The Athletic, he said: "The rematch is definitely going to happen. We're going to get it on. I want to get right back to it."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Tyson Fury, Boxing