In the days since Deontay Wilder took the first professional loss of his career at the hands of Tyson Fury, the former WBC heavyweight champion has unleashed plenty of excuses to explain what went wrong on Saturday night.
He blamed referee Kenny Bayless for not enforcing his pre-fight warnings about punches to the back of the head. He blamed his corner for throwing in the towel (despite that being the correct and responsible move). He also blamed the elaborate, 40-pound costume he wore during the ring walk for tiring out his legs by Round 3.
While it could theoretically be draining to take a long walk to the ring with 40 pounds of costume on your person, Wilder acted like it was a shock to his system and not something he’s been accustomed to. Back in 2018 and after the first Fury fight, Wilder discussed using a 45-pound vest as a key component for his training regimen.
He said to Joe Rogan:
“We want to activate the fast-twitch muscles. We do everything with rapid speed. If I’m doing anything that consists of me moving my feet, it’s sprinting and stuff like that. I wear a 45-pound vest on me as well to all my exercises and everything that I do to have that extra weight on me.”
If a 45-pound vest was a regular component of “ALL” his exercises, then that really makes his costume excuse look weaker than it already did. He should have been used to the weight.
Wilder has said that he’ll activate the rematch clause of the contract, so we’ll have to see what kind of costume he opts for ahead of his next fight. And how heavy it is.
