Subsequent to the fight, Wilder fired his trainer, Mark Breland — a former gold medalist Olympian and world champion boxer — for throwing in the towel. Wilder looked out of sorts after the first round, leading many, perhaps Breland among them, to think he had a broken eardrum. Turns out it was only a two-centimeter cut that required seven stitches to close. He also did not suffer a broken jaw in what was easily his most embarrassing moment as a boxer.
Still, Wilder excused his performance for the costume.
“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,” he continued. “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.”
Wilder has since exercised a clause in his contract to initiate negotiations for a third fight with Fury.
