Deontay Wilder has been ridiculed after claiming the reason he lost his WBC heavyweight crown to Tyson Fury not because of the Brit's fearsome punching power but due to being exhausted from wearing a 45lb costume to the ring.

The American appeared a shadow of the fighter who has been one of the heavyweight boxing's most destructive forces in recent years, as the aggressive Fury dominated the fight from the opening bell with a gameplan which suffocated any momentum Wilder was able to engineer.

The fight appeared all but over in the third round when Fury landed a clubbing blow behind Wilder's left ear which sent him sprawling to the canvas. From that point on it appeared as if Wilder's legs were gone and the end, when it came, appeared to save him from further punishment.

However, in his first comments since the defeat Wilder blamed the reasoning for the loss not on the 58 significant strikes landed by Fury throughout the contest but on the black and gold armor he wore to the ring as a tribute to Black History Month.

Wilder has made a reputation for his colorful ring-walks but this time around he said that the costume, which comprised of armor, a mask and a crown, hindered him when the fight began.

"Fury didn't hurt me at all, but the simple fact is that my uniform was way too heavy for me," he said to Yahoo! Sports.

"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. I was only able to put it on [for the first time] the night before but I didn't think it was going to be that heavy.

"It weighed 40 pounds with the helmet and all the batteries. I wanted my tribute to be great for Black History Month … and I guess I put that before anything."

That was an excuse, however, which did not hold water with many observers.

Wilder has indicated to The Athletic that he will trigger the rematch clause in his contract which will align a third fight between both men most likely later this year, which will shelve plans for a lucrative winner-takes-all heavyweight clash between Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Regardless of how it came about, Wilder is dissatisfied with not just the conclusion to Saturday's fight but the manner in which it came about. Mark Breeland, the man who threw the towel in before the end of the 7th round, isn't certain to return for any future fight - and Wilder made clear his reasoning for this.

"I'd rather die in the ring than have the towel thrown in," he said. "I'm a warrior."

https://www.rt.com/sport/481621-deontay-wilder-costume-fury/

Poor planning if you're right. Fury was wanking 7X a day to keep it flowing and you were putting on dead weight ojuju costume like you'd won the fight. Las Las na King dey host Masquerade not the other way round.

Only a lazy work man will blame his tools

That's why


I won't say a word