DEONTAY WILDER fought with no ‘legs under him’ after Tyson Fury ‘threw his equilibrium off’ following an early knockdown.
Wilder bravely battled through 11 rounds before being knocked out to end an enthralling trilogy bout in Las Vegas.
But the American looked spent for much of the fight after he was floored for the first time, three rounds in.
His manager Shelly Finkel claimed Wilder’s exhausted look and overall performance was hampered after Fury’s punch-perfect shot.
Finkel told SunSport: “He’s doing well, he gives all credit to Fury to perform the way he did.
“But early in the fight Deontay, probably around the third round, when he got hit, he got hit by the ear and it threw his equilibrium off.
“And I was watching and I said, ‘What happened to his legs?’ Because he trained so hard.”
Fury, 33, had Wilder, 35, hurt in the third on the ropes after a left hook followed by a right hand landed right around the side of the ear.
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The Gypsy King then landed a short uppercut and hook combination that sent Wilder crashing to the canvas.
Fury looked to be on the road to an early night’s work, only to then be dramatically floored twice himself in the following round.
He later regained control, dropping Wilder in the tenth before a brutal right hand settled it all with a round to spare.
But the Bronze Bomber refused to quit all night, ever threatening with his lethal right hand, and restored his reputation with the gutsy performance.
Finkel said: “It was a show of his determination and his no-quit attitude, many other fighters probably would have quit during that fight.
“He started out great; the first round he won the round obviously on all three cards and he was following the game plan.
“But then, when certain things happened in the third round, he had to change it but even with that, if you look later on he caught Fury a couple of times flush.
“But due to him not having his legs under him, he didn’t have the normal Deontay power.”
Wilder’s effort in recapturing the WBC title and gaining retribution can only further be hailed after he broke his right hand during the fight.
He has returned home to Alabama and will have surgery to fix one of the most dangerous weapons in boxing history.
Wilder has been hit with a six month medical suspension, but is in line to return no later than May 2022.
Finkel revealed: “He’s sore but he was OK, he was home yesterday.
“He’s healing and at this point, if everything is OK, after the hand surgery he’ll probably look to enter the ring mid next year, like April or May.”
