Costume excuse: Video of Wilder saying he trains with extra weight resurfaces
Deontay Wilder blaming his ring walk costume for his defeat to Tyson Fury didn’t go down too well, and his critics are unlikely to go quietly after footage emerged of him admitting he trains with a 45-pound vest.
Fury put in a performance for the ages to stop Wilder in the seventh round having floored him in the third and fifth rounds and claim the WBC world title belt.
The American, speaking on the Joe Rogan podcast in 2018, had said he used the extra weight during all his exercises in order to ‘activate his twitch muscles’.
‘We want to activate the twitch muscles. We do everything with rapid speed. If I’m doing anything that consist of me moving my feet or sprinting, I wear a 45-pound vest on me in all my exercises and everything I do to have that extra weight on me.’
Wilder has been roundly ridiculed for a number of excuses made after he was comfortably beaten by Fury in his first professional defeat, but has been singled out particularly for saying that his legs were tired after he walked to the ring in a 40 pound outfit.
He told Yahoo: ‘He didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is that my uniform was way too heavy for me.
Deontay Wilder confirms during a guest appearance on @joerogan podcast in December 2018 that he specifically trains wearing a "45-pound vest" to carry extra weight to activate his "twitch muscles"🤔
Bizarre then that his ring costume weighing an alleged 40 pounds is blamed? pic.twitter.com/qwWMLuG7sc
— Against The Ropes (@ATRboxinguk) February 26, 2020
‘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.’
Wilder’s heavyweight rival Dillian Whyte, who often criticises the US star for failing to face him in the ring despite the British fighter being his mandatory fighter for a long spell, was quick to post the footage to his Twitter followers.
He wrote: ‘There you go @bronzebomber no surprise you lying coward #excuses #fraud’.
Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn also took the opportunity to slate Wilder for the excuse, saying he was amazed by the outburst.
‘Have you ever heard something so ridiculous in all your life?’ he told iFL TV. ‘Firstly, I’m sure it was heavy but the walk is something like 100 yards.
‘It’s the biggest fight of your career, and you’re saying the reason you didn’t win the career-defining fight is because of an outfit?’
Despite the controversy over the costume, which had body armour and batteries in it that lit the ensemble up as he walked to the ring, Wilder is set to use the same designers for his third fight with Fury.
Donato Cowley, who created the £31,000 outfit with Cosmo Lombino, said he had been assured they would work with Wilder again.
Read Also: Heavyweight champion Fury Earned $93,633 Per Punch Against Wilder
‘Deontay Wilder called me at home last night,’ Donato revealed to The Sun. ‘We had an extensive honest conversation that put confusion and rumours to rest, reiterating that he considers us family.
‘Deontay was very clear that he looks forward to future collaborations.’
The next move for the American looks to be his trilogy fight with Fury after confirming he would be activating his rematch clause. His loss to the unfancied British star came as a shock after Fury put him on the back foot throughout the contest and dominated from the first bell.