3 Lamest Deontay Wilder Excuses for TKO Loss to Tyson Fury

Deontay Wilder's legendary knockout power, unrivaled across almost all of boxing history, was unable to bother Tyson Fury, as the crafty Englishman handed Wilder his first professional loss in the pair's second matchup against one another. Both Wilder's camp and the boxer himself have been quick to come out with excuses as to why he was unable to bring home the win, and these three stand out as especially ridiculous.

3. Ref Kenny Bayless Was in Fury's Pocket

Wilder claims that Bayless, who deducted a point from Fury in the fifth round, didn't do enough to stop the Englishman from punching him illegally in the back of the head, which Wilder insists was going on for the early rounds of the fight. Bayless might not have brought his best stuff to the fight, and let one or two punches go, but it wasn't as widespread or nefarious as Wilder thinks it was.

2. His Corner Threw in the Towel Too Early

Wilder's balance was off in the middle rounds, as an injury inside of his ear canal, erroneously reported to be a ruptured ear drum, impaired the knockout artist for almost the entire fight. While Wilder is a fierce competitor that "wanted to go out on my shield" like the Spartan warrior he fancies himself, he was in no shape to continue fighting after losing that much blood. Putting him back out there could have resulted in further injury in a fight Fury already had in the bag by round seven.

1. His Costume Weakened His Legs

In every non-Fury fight of his career, Wilder has come into the ring with an elaborate costume on and proceeded to pulverize his opponent into a bloody pulp within the first few rounds. When he loses for the first time in his career, suddenly his 45-pound threads were too heavy. The other two at least had some basis in fact, but this is silly and makes minimal sense. Just take your loss, bludgeon two weaker opponents to death to get your knockout groove back, and earn another title fight.