Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder broke his silence Thursday after suffering his second defeat at the hands of Tyson Fury this past weekend.
The boxer thanked his team and fans on Instagram. While Wilder was disappointed in the loss, he acknowledged that he emerged as a more respected fighter.
"Wow, what a hell of a night! I would like to first and foremost thank God for allowing me to give the world another part of me that's driven with passion and determination," Wilder wrote. "I would like to thank my team and my fans for sticking by my side through this long process. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't disappointed in the outcome but after reflecting on my journey, I now see that what God wanted me to experience is far greater than what I expected to happen. We didn't get the win but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons. I've learned that sometimes you have to lose to win."
Despite knocking Fury down twice in the fourth round, Wilder was eventually knocked out in the 11th round. His co-manager, Shelly Finkel, revealed Thursday that the former champ suffered a broken right hand in the sixth round and will have surgery on Monday. Wilder is expected to miss over three months while he recovers from the surgery.
"He'll fight sometime in the spring or early summer as long as he's healthy and he's good and he's up to it," Finkel said. "He's still in pain with the hand and his equilibrium was off, somewhere around the third round (Fury connected behind the ear), that's why his balance wasn't the same. He feels he trained so hard and then the two incidents -- no disrespect at all to Fury -- he put in all that effort and wasn't able to fight him healthy."
While Wilder refused to display good sportsmanship towards Fury following their fight, he congratulated and thanked his rival for their historic trilogy.
"Last but not least I would like to congratulate @gypsyking101 for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever," he added.
Following Wilder's loss, he still remains the third-best heavyweight according to most experts' boxing list.
Source: ESPN
