DEONTAY WILDER WARNED “the war has just begun” as he vowed to reclaim his WBC heavyweight world title following his defeat to Tyson Fury.
The previously unbeaten Wilder (42-1-1) retained his belt when the first fight between the pair ended in a contentious draw, but he was comprehensively outboxed by Fury (30-0-1) in Las Vegas last weekend.
The American was knocked down twice, appeared unsteady for much of the fight and was bleeding from his ear long before trainer Mark Breland threw in the towel for a seventh-round TKO at the MGM Grand.
Wilder later claimed his extravagant ring-walk costume was partly to blame for the loss, but he had not posted on his usually vibrant Twitter account since prior to the fight until Friday.
In a video message to his fans, Wilder boldly said: “Hello my people, my Bomb Squad army, my Bomb Squad nation, to all my loved ones around the world.
“I just want to let you know that I am here. Your king is here. And we ain’t going nowhere, for the war has just begun. I will rise again.
“I am strong. I am a king. You can’t take my pride. I am a warrior. I am a king that will never give up. I am a king that will fight to the death.
“And if anyone don’t understand that, don’t understand what it is to go to war, don’t understand what it is to fight… We will rise again. We will regain the title. I will be back.
“We will hold our heads up high. Our king is in great spirits. And we will rise like a phoenix from the ashes and regain the title.
“I’ll see you in a few months, for the war has just begun. All my love to all my people.”
Wilder has a rematch clause for a trilogy fight, although Anthony Joshua’s (23-1) promoter Eddie Hearn is keen to pit his own fighter against Fury in a mammoth heavyweight unification bout.
Bernard Jackman joins Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey to figure out where we go from here — not only post-Twickenham, but potentially into September as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the rugby calendar. The lads also discuss the media’s treatment of the Irish team which some fans and players believe is too harsh, but some non-rugby journalists believe to be too soft.
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