Deontay Wilder has revealed that he broke his arm and required surgery just 12 weeks out from his training camp for the fight with Tyson Fury.
The undefeated American secured two knockdowns en route to retaining his WBC title in a controversial draw on Saturday night.
And the ‘Bronze Bomber’ has now admitted his preparation was severely hampered after fracturing his arm in sparring.
‘A lot of people don’t know, 12 weeks before camp I broke my arm, we kept that a secret, surgery and everything,’ he told EsNews.
‘I broke my arm from my wrist to elbow, I was sparring, getting ready and I was getting the best of my sparring partner, I was going to the body, he turned his elbow out and my bones and his elbow went in like a hammer to a nail. It just broke it.
‘We wanted to keep that sewed up, you know, we don’t make excuses, that whole camp we rallied through and I barely threw any punches my whole camp.
‘So that could also have been another reason, with the being anxious to want to get Fury out so badly, having so much pressure on me with the pay-per-view.’
Wilder was widely thought to have been outclassed by the ‘Gypsy King’ until sending his challenger to the canvas twice.
The heavyweight champion has spoken of his desire for a rematch with Fury, although a high-profile unification bout with Anthony Joshua is also a possibility.
To his credit, Wilder kept his injury in house and has already talked up his chances in the possible rematch.
