Deontay Wilder ‘surprised he lasted seven rounds’ against Tyson Fury

The American insists his legs deserted him from the first bell due to the weight of his costume for his ring walk

Deontay Wilder admits he was “surprised” he lasted seven rounds against Tyson Fury to lose his WBC world heavyweight title.

The American was knocked down twice before a seventh round stoppage in Las Vegas last weekend.

Wilder rattled off a number of excuses for his first defeat of his career, but the headline-grabber was his regret at the weight of his ring walk costume.

Wilder insists it left his legs feeling heavy and resigned to his fate in the ring.

“I had no legs,” Wilder is quoted as saying by Boxing Scene. “I’m surprised I went that long.

Deontay Wilder remonstrates with referee Kenny Bayliss (REUTERS)

“I had no legs, and I knew I was in for a fight with these legs and the condition I was in. It was crazy. But, you know, again, it’s nobody’s fault but mine.

“I wore the costume that was that heavy, and I paid the price. I traded the tribute to men and women [for] my title, and you know, as a warrior, I was gonna fight.

“My job was to fight under any circumstances, as a king, and that’s what I did. And I don’t take nothing back.”

Wilder has already underlined his intention to force another rematch to complete the trilogy.

“He didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is ... that my uniform was way too heavy for me,” Wilder told 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. 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.

“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, 40-some pounds with the helmet and all the batteries. I wanted my tribute to be great for Black History Month. I wanted it to be good and I guess I put that before anything.”