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Eddie Hearn explains why ‘petrified’ Wilder was ‘not normal’ in knockout defeat by Tyson Fury

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Deontay Wilder holds on after being dropped by Tyson Fury (Getty)

Eddie Hearn insists Deontay Wilder was “not normal” during his knockout defeat to Tyson Fury.

The American was dropped four times on the way to suffering an 11th round stoppage to end the trilogy.

And the Matchroom promoter was alarmed by the Alabaman’s exhausted look after just three rounds.

“Obviously, Fury caught him with a great shot and went down twice,” Hearn told iFL TV.

“The second one was nothing knockdown, but Fury was still all over the place.

“Wilder could not stand up, he was exhausted after three rounds, and that’s not normal. Some heavyweights have good tanks.

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“Fury’s tank is exceptional, but you can’t just say, ‘That’s how he is.’ You can’t have a championship fight at any kind of pace if you can’t stand up after three rounds.”

Hearn also admitted to cheering for Fury to win the fight and accused Wilder of looking “petrified” in the ring.

“Listen, it was a brilliant fight,” Hearn added. “Technically it was all over the shop, but who cares? The drama was unbelievable.

“Massive credit to both fighters. Wilder looked hypnotised before the fight and after two rounds he almost couldn’t stand up.

“He started quite well, but he looked petrified and exhausted before the fight even started.

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“After three rounds he couldn’t stand up and I thought it was all over.

“He comes back with the equaliser and Fury goes down twice. It was non-stop and full of drama.

“I have to give Fury credit, because he dug deep and got the win. It was brilliant for boxing and for the heavyweight division, because we need fights like that.

“I wanted Fury to win. Props to both guys and massive congratulations for Fury, because it was a great win

-Independent

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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