Deontay Wilder's ring gear used for his entrance right before his rematch against Tyson Fury was certainly eye-opening, but the now former-WBC Heavyweight champion pinned that as a potential reason for his loss.
Wilder walked into the ring wearing a complex black suit that covered most of his upper body and included eyes that lit up. All that and more was part of the entrance that was used to honor Black History Month. The fight, however, went awry for Wilder. Fury dominated the bout, scoring two knockdowns en route to a seventh-round stoppage to win the WBC title and Wilder said his legs were shot because the suit he wore was too heavy.
“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," Wilder told Yahoo Sports after his February 22 loss to Fury.
When Wilder first wore the suit the day before the fight, he didn't think it would be that big of an issue. The weight of the full ensemble proved to be too much for him, according to Wilder.
“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 said.
Although he was soundly beaten by Fury in the ring, a third fight between the two is still possible. Wilder does have a rematch clause and said he plans to exercise it.
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