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Deontay Wilder raised more than a few eyebrows after he blamed his seventh round technical knockout (TKO) loss to Tyson Fury last Saturday (Feb. 29) on his walkout attire, which according to “The Bronze Bomber,” weighed over 40 pounds and zapped his energy as he was making his way down the ring.
But his reason for the lack of offensive output will now have a bit less weight (pun intended), as footage has emerged of Wilder once revealing on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he is accustomed to training full speed with a 45-pound vest on.
In a December 2018 interview, Deontay Wilder told Joe Rogan that he wears a 45 lbs vest during training sessions. pic.twitter.com/SHjEWZxOyf
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) February 26, 2020
“We want to activate the fast twitch muscles. We do everything with rapid speed. If I am doing anything that consists of me moving my feet we’re sprinting,” said Wilder. “And I wear a 45-pound vest on me, as well, in all of my exercises and everything I do to have that extra weight on me.”
Granted, we’re not saying Wilder doesn’t get exhausted after his workouts, but one would assume he’d be accustomed to the extra weight, and a stroll down the ring shouldn’t have a major effect on his legs. Despite being dropped by Fury and getting busted up enough force Wilder’s corner to throw in the towel, Deontay is adamant “Gypsy King” didn’t hurt him.
Nevertheless, Wilder is sticking to his story, and we will likely not see him wearing another extravagant $40,000 costume when the two big men rematch later this year.