By: Hans Themistode
For Deontay Wilder, losing was never an option. The six-foot-six-inch former heavyweight titlist felt he was unbeatable in the ring. Yet, after seven one sided rounds earlier this year against Tyson Fury, the Alabama native found his aura of invincibility shattered.
Following the loss, Wilder offered an explanation as to why he stumbled across the ring for most of their contest and hit the deck on multiple occasions.
“My uniform was way too heavy for me,” said Wilder shortly after his defeat. “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. It weighed 40-some pounds with the helmet and all the batteries. I tried my best but I knew I didn’t have the legs because of my uniform.”
Wilder’s excuse for the lone defeat in his career was viewed as erroneous and nonsensical, yet, he stuck to his guns. Recently however, with more time to reflect on his defeat, Wilder is now back-peddling from his original thought process.
“That wouldn’t have been the case,” said Wilder to Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast when asked if he believed his costume cost him his world title. “I’m not excusing the costume. It had a little weight on it but it wasn’t enough weight to make me feel the way I felt in that ring. It wasn’t enough to cause me to not have my legs. It’s like having sex and going to have basketball.”
Wilder’s recent dismissal of his costume costing him both his unblemished record and his world title doesn’t mean he believes he lost fair and square. On the contrary, the Alabama native is under the belief that Fury pulled off a sly move or two and if you don’t believe him, just look at his track record.
“He cheated,” said an exasperated Wilder. “He flat out cheated. That wasn’t the best man, that was a coward. He’s a known cheater. We can go back to the rap sheet of his history, even with the Klitschko fight. He definitely wasn’t the better man.”
In November of 2015, Fury pulled off what many thought to be impossible when he dethroned long standing unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko who’s reign lasted nearly a decade. Fury’s victory was short-lived though as he failed multiple drug tests for cocaine use, and would later admit to his transgressions.
Both Fury and Wilder were drug tested during the build up of their contest. That however, hasn’t stopped Fury from cheating according to Wilder. The 34-year-old isn’t accusing his rival of taking a banned substance though. Instead, Wilder believes he used other methods to pull off the victory and claims to have a mountain of evidence to back his claims.
“I still haven’t heard valid proof of how gloves keep a smushed in form. How a glove flap all the way back? Why is your hands in the bottom of the glove? Why did my ear have scratches in it? It was because of your nails. There are so many facts and different proof that we have.”
Those bullet points, along with what Wilder believes was disloyalty from his now fired co-trainer Mark Breland, has left wilder fuming.
Just a few weeks ago, after spending several months sequestered from social media, Wilder posted a video placing the blame squarely at the feet of both Fury and Breland. The former trainer’s role in his truncated championship reign is believed to be through his water. Wilder is under the assumption that Breland spiked his drink which ultimately led to his unstable legs and lack of aggression. Since then, the boxing public has pushed back on his claims, believing that they are ludicrous and unfounded.
Despite the push back, Wilder won’t waste his time fulminating with those who don’t agree with what he believes is the truth.
“When I took my costume off you seen my eyes bugging. Over these five years of people seeing me fight they know when I’m ready and when I’m not. When people seen my face people were saying something was wrong with him. A lot of people just don’t want to believe because they don’t want to.”