Audio By Carbonatix
Deontay Wilder has blamed his elaborate ring-walk costume for his WBC heavyweight title defeat by Tyson Fury.
The American, 34, said his costume was too heavy and as a result he "didn't have the legs" for the fight.
Britain's Fury, 31, produced a dominant display to win the title in Las Vegas on Saturday when Wilder's corner threw in the towel in the seventh round.
Wilder also told US media he will exercise his rematch clause for a third fight against Fury.
"Fury didn't hurt me at all, but the simple fact is that my uniform was way too heavy for me," Wilder told Yahoo.
Wilder said the costume, which featured armour, a mask and a crown, weighed at least 40 pounds (18.1kg) and was a tribute to Black History Month.
Fury was carried to the ring on a throne, while also wearing a crown.
"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," added 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.
"I wanted it to be good and I guess I put that before anything."
Fury was carried to the ring on a throne
Fury floored Wilder with a jab and right-hand combination in the third round before a left hand to the body sent the previously unbeaten Wilder down again in the fifth.
Wilder was taken to hospital after the fight but said he did not suffer a concussion, broken ear drum or broken jaw as had been speculated, but did require stitches to close a cut in his ear.
He also criticised assistant trainer Mark Breland for stopping the fight.
"I am upset with Mark for the simple fact that we've talked about this many times and it's not emotional," he said.
"It is not an emotional thing, it's a principle 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.
"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."
"I understand he was looking out for me and trying to do what he felt was right, but this is my life and my career and he has to accept my wishes."
Wilder has 30 days to invoke the rematch clause in his contract in order to try and reclaim the title from Fury, having drawn their first encounter in December 2018.
Fury was carried to the ring on a throne
Fury floored Wilder with a jab and right-hand combination in the third round before a left hand to the body sent the previously unbeaten Wilder down again in the fifth.
Wilder was taken to hospital after the fight but said he did not suffer a concussion, broken ear drum or broken jaw as had been speculated, but did require stitches to close a cut in his ear.
He also criticised assistant trainer Mark Breland for stopping the fight.
"I am upset with Mark for the simple fact that we've talked about this many times and it's not emotional," he said.
"It is not an emotional thing, it's a principle 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.
"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."
"I understand he was looking out for me and trying to do what he felt was right, but this is my life and my career and he has to accept my wishes."
Wilder has 30 days to invoke the rematch clause in his contract in order to try and reclaim the title from Fury, having drawn their first encounter in December 2018.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Machu Picchu train crash leaves one dead and dozens injured
5 minutes -
Heavy police presence in Sydney for New Year’s celebrations after Bondi attack
29 minutes -
Ghana not experiencing ‘dumsor’ despite occasional outages – Analyst
33 minutes -
ESLA stabilised energy sector but legacy debt remains major challenge – Analyst
34 minutes -
Peter Obi dumps LP, defects to ADC
53 minutes -
Proposed 5-Year Presidential Term Could Break Ghana Tradition of 8-Year Mandate
54 minutes -
Ghana Airways technical completion paves the way for a triple threat economic reset
1 hour -
Cedi depreciation marked most disastrous period in Ghana’s economic management – Felix Kwakye Ofosu
1 hour -
Walewale, Bolgatanga police investigate deadly checkpoint shooting
1 hour -
Taxpayers to pay less under revised VAT structure from 2026 — GRA
1 hour -
Bullish Andre Ayew talks up NAC Breda challenge
2 hours -
Cybersecurity Authority warns public against festive season parcel delivery scams
2 hours -
Andre Ayew joins Dutch side NAC Breda till end of season
2 hours -
It’s fair to say that the gov’t has started well on economic management – Oppong Nkrumah
2 hours -
Mahama inherited the worst economic situation in Ghana’s history, supervised by the NPP – Felix Kwakye Ofosu
2 hours
