Deontay Wilder has blamed the extravagant costume he wore during his ring-walk for his defeat to Tyson Fury in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The previously undefeated American entered the ring in Las Vegas wearing a 40-pound outfit designed to celebrate Black History Month.
He went on to be stopped in the seventh round by Fury after assistant trainer Mark Breland threw in the towel.
Wilder was knocked down by a right hand from Fury in the third round and again by a body shot in the fifth.
The 34-year-old also fell another two times and appeared to struggle with his balance.
Speaking to Yahoo Sports in the aftermath of losing his WBC title, Wilder said: “He didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is that my uniform was way too heavy for me.
“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.
“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.”
Source: skysports.com