Deontay Wilder continues to be in the spotlight.
Wilder lost his WBC heavyweight title after suffering a seventh-round TKO defeat to Tyson Fury this past weekend.
The American made headlines afterwards as he claimed his walkout costume — which was over 40 pounds — contributed to his defeat.
“He didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is … that my uniform was way too heavy for me,” Wilder said. “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. A lot of people were telling me, ‘It looked like something was wrong with you.’ Something was, but when you’re in the ring, you have to bluff a lot of things. I tried my best to do so. I knew I didn’t have the legs because of my uniform.”
Wilder’s comments naturally drew criticism and ridicule from many in the combat sports world, especially given that he has a history of walking out to fancy costumes.
Now, footage is doing the rounds of his interview with Joe Rogan back in December 2018 where Wilder claimed he trained with a 45-pound vest on.
“We want to activate the fast twitch muscles,” Wilder said. “You know what I’m saying? We do everything with rapid speed. If I am doing anything that consists of me moving my feet is sprinting. And I wear a 45-pound vest on me, as well, in all of my exercises and everything I do to have the extra weight on me.”
That’s not to say that Wilder doesn’t get tired from his workouts. But all this only adds to the ridicule he has been receiving since blaming the costume.
What do you make of the interview snippet?