.jpg)
According to undefeated heavyweight contender Junior Fa, there was an injury suffered by Deontay Wilder as he prepared for his February rematch with Tyson Fury. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
Fury dropped Wilder twice and stopped him in the seventh round to capture the WBC heavyweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Fa was one of Wilder’s sparring partners to prepare for the second fight.
Initially, Wilder blamed the loss on the unexpected weight of his ring-walk costume. Wilder claimed the costume weighed at least 40-pounds and wore out his legs during the pre-fight theatrics.
However, he would later explain that there were other issues going on behind the scenes.
Fa has revealed that Wilder injured his bicep near the end of the camp.
The New Zealand boxer was not under the impression that the injury would play a role in the outcome.
“Yes, [it was] the bicep injury [that he suffered in camp]. I don’t know the extent of the damage, but he did hurt it, yeah,” Fa told Sky Sports.
After suffering the loss to Fury, Wilder underwent bicep surgery – which confirmed there was an injury but it wasn’t clear if it was pre-existing or sustained during the rematch.
“I was very shocked [by the Wilder defeat]. The lead up and the training was actually really good. Deontay was looking great. I think he did hurt himself towards the end of camp, which I don’t think would have played too much into the fight, but then I don’t really know the extent of the damage of the injury that he sustained,” Fa said.
“What I do know [is] that he did get injured, but I was very surprised by Fury’s game plan. As soon as the fight started, and I saw Fury not really taking a backward step, trying to push Wilder to the ropes, I was thinking ‘Oh man, this is going to be a hard night for Wilder.’ Fury just basically did what he said he was going to do, which was stop the biggest puncher in the world. That was a very, very good performance from him.”
Wilder has exercised an immediate rematch clause. The trilogy fight with Fury is penciled in for the tentative date of December 19, but there is a chance the contest will get pushed back to 2021.