DEONTAY Wilder has come up with a whole list of reasons to explain why he lost to Tyson Fury.
The Gypsy King inflicted the American's first professional defeat when they clashed in the ring for the second time in February, following their initial bout ending in a draw.
And from the moment he picked himself off the floor after his seventh-round loss, Wilder has not been short of excuses on why he wasn't able to win.
So far the major defences for the fight's outcome have totalled six for the former WBC champ.
Some of them appear ridiculous, with the boxer blaming his heavy ring-walk outfit and an egg-shaped object.
Wilder's latest explanation came today, when he bizarrely alleged his drinking water had been spiked before the fight.
He told 78SPORTSTV: “About 15 minutes before going out to the fight, warming up on the mitts, it was perfect, I felt great.
“Until I went to the ring. That transformation, I was drinking certain water and stuff, trying to keep myself hydrated.
“I just start feeling weird. My water was spiked as if I took a muscle relaxer or something like that.
“This feeling here, it was a different feeling. It was like I had no control over my body, my legs was weak and stuff like that.”
The second notable excuse from Wilder – and probably his most famous – was when he claimed ring-walk outfit was too heavy.
Hours after his loss, he said his elaborate costume – donned in a tribute to black history month – weighed him down and affected his performance.
He said at the time: "He [Fury] 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.
"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 40lb 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."
The third tale for the 35-year-old was when he lashed out at his trainer Mark Breland.
Wilder did not agree with his decision to throw the towel in when he did.
Retired boxer Breland has recently parted ways with Wilder, who likely did not take kindly to Wilder's words.
Fourth in the list of excuses did not originate from the Yank himself, but from a vlogger whose unfounded accusations were amplified by Wilder.
Fury, 32, was accused of cheating – an accusation he denies – by putting a heavy, egg-shaped object in his gloves.
Wilder said this weekend: "I highly believe you put something hard in your glove, something the shape and size of an egg… the reason why the side of head swelled up in the shape of an egg and left a dent in my head."
The gloving-up process is carefully monitored by boxing authorities and there is no evidence supporting Fury finding a way to slip a heavy object in his gloves.
Another one of Wilder's big excuses included the ref being bias.
Official Kenny Bayless is experienced but found himself under attack for supposedly favouring the Brit boxer.
Wilder said: "Bayless had come in my dressing room, looked me in my eyes and said if I hit Fury in the back of the head – a rabbit punch – or hit off of the break, he would disqualify me or deduct two points from me.
"I guess those rules just applied to me because they didn't apply to my opponent. He hit me in the back of the neck and the head all night and Bayless didn't do anything about it, to the point I got lumps and bruises. That was a thing that was very frustrating to me."
And last on the list of why Wilder lost to Fury included the fighter's claims that he was carrying an injury.
He said an injury to his left bicep meant he was unable to train for months.
It's a statement that has more credibility than the rest of what Wilder said, but some boxing experts said it would sound more believable if not for the other claims.
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