Deontay Wilder plans to exercise his rematch clause against Tyson Fury, and the former WBC champion offered a unique excuse as to why Fury defeated Wilder so easily in their second fight over the weekend in Las Vegas.
According to The Athletic’s Lance Pugmire, Wilder, 34, for Tuscaloosa, Ala., revealed Monday that the costume he wore to the ring on fight night was just a bit too heavy for the fighter to carry.
Full story coming to @TheAthleticBOX shortly: Deontay Wilder @BronzeBomber tells me he is definitely exercising his rematch clause for a summer trilogy against @Tyson_Fury, that his legs were weakened by his 45-pound costume he wore to the ring to honor Black History Month.
You can watch Wilder’s elaborate fight night entrance below.
Wilder looked more muscular at the Friday weigh-in than ever before, and the American was the heaviest he’d ever been for a prizefight at 231 pounds. Still, the tremendous power puncher told Pugmire that his 45-pound costume, which he wore in honor of Black History Month, was just too heavy for him.
So while Wilder’s entrance on Saturday night was epic, it sort of pales in comparison to his epic excuse for losing the fight.
Fury Was Carried Into Wilder vs. Fury 2
Fury, 30, from Manchester, U.K., at least seemed to have a better idea for his rematch ring walk than Wilder. Nicknamed “The Gypsy King”, Fury was carried into the ring on a throne during the fighter’s own entrance.
That came on the way way to Fury stopping Wilder over seven one-sided rounds to retain his lineal heavyweight championship, gain Wilder’s WBC belt and add the vacant The Ring magazine and Transnational Boxing Rankings Board championships to his growing list of championship honors.
It was a far cry from what happened during the fighters’ first epic encounter back in December 2018. Sure, Fury largely outboxed Wilder during the 12-round barnburner, but Wilder scored two knockdowns in the bout to even the score.
Wilder’s second knockdown in particular, which happened in the 12th round, appeared to have scored the knockout win for the fearsome champion. But Fury shockingly got back to his feet and made it to the end of the round.
Epic Third Fight Coming Soon
Regardless, now the two fighters appear to be headed toward a third bout. When that happens, don’t expect Wilder to don such a heavy costume on the way to the boxing ring this time around. If anything, maybe Wilder will let people carry him into the ring like Fury did.
Most importantly, though, it seems as if Wilder might be biting off a bit more than he can chew by seeking the immediate rematch. While the 45-pound costume might have tired out the heavyweight a bit on his way to the ring, the plain fact of the matter is that Fury was the much better boxer on Saturday night.
In fact, Fury looked so much better than Wilder from a technical perspective, that it would probably behoove the former champion to get back into the gym to work on his footwork. The American was constantly out of position during the bout, and Fury consistently made him pay for it.
By the way, if you missed that massive Fox Sports and ESPN+ pay-per-view event on Saturday night, you can catch some of the highlights below.
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Deontay Wilder Provides Epic Excuse for Tyson Fury Loss