Wilder plans to exercise rematch clause vs. Fury, blames costume for loss

The Wilder-Fury rivalry appears headed to its third round.

Just days after losing his heavyweight title to Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder told Lance Pugmire of The Athletic he plans to exercise his rematch clause and fight the British boxer for a third time.

The rematch would take place by the end of July, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

Wilder suffered the first loss of his career in Saturday's much-anticipated showdown via a seventh-round TKO after his corner threw in the towel. The win gave Fury the WBC heavyweight belt formerly held by Wilder, along with both the Ring Magazine belt and the lineal heavyweight crown.

The 34-year-old placed some blame for Saturday's loss on the 40-pound costume he wore during his ring walk. Wilder said that the costume, which was designed to honor Black History Month, weakened his legs heading into the ring.

"He (Fury) didn't hurt me at all, but the simple fact is ... that my uniform was way too heavy for me,” Wilder told Kevin lole of Yahoo Sports. "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 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 also told Pugmire he's considering whether to retain assistant trainer Mark Breland, who threw in the towel against his wishes on Saturday.

"I'd rather die in the ring than have the towel thrown in," Wilder said. "I'm a warrior."

Wilder and Fury's first meeting in 2018 finished in a controversial split-decision draw.