METRO
Frank Warren has suggested Deontay Wilder was carrying an injury heading into his shock defeat to Joseph Parker having ‘sat in the cryochamber too long’ heading into the fight.
Wilder was outclassed by Parker on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, losing on a wide points decision in Riyadh.
The defeat dashes hopes of a long-awaited showdown between Wilder and Anthony Joshua in 2024. Joshua meanwhile eased to an impressive win over Otto Wallin in the main event.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ failed to truly trouble Parker throughout the fight with some boxing fans suggesting ring rust may have been part of the problem.
Wilder had just one round of boxing under his belt in 26 months heading into the fight, coming in his knockout victory over Robert Helenius in October last year.
Whatever the reason, the former WBC champion looked a shadow of his former destructive self as he suffered the third defeat of his career.
‘I thought he looked pretty dreadful,’ Warren told talkSPORT. ‘He did a very good job, Joe, right from the start.’
Warren went onto reveal that Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel had told him leading into the fight that Wilder had ‘spent too much time in a cryochamber’, suggesting there may have been a possible injury concern.
‘I really don’t know what he does now, Deontay,’ Warren continued.
‘I was just talking to Shelly Finkel and they were telling me that he had a problem. He went into one of those cryochambers and sat in it for a long time. I don’t know. Obviously, there’s going to be some excuse.’
Boxers typically use cryotherapy in their fight camps, using it to ease pain and enhance recovery while also used to preventative treatment for injuries.
