Deontay Wilder Suspends Trainer Who Stopped Fight vs. Tyson Fury

Deontay Wilder: “I am upset with Mark [Breland] for the simple fact that we’ve talked about this many times and it’s not emotional. It is not an emotional thing, it’s a principal thing. We’ve talked about this situation many, many years before this even happened. I said as a warrior, as a champion, as a leader, as a ruler, I want to go out on my shield. If I’m talking about going in and killing a man, I respect the same way. I abide by the same principal of receiving. So I told my team to never, ever, no matter what it may look like, to never throw the towel in with me because I’m a special kind. I still had five rounds left. No matter what it looked like, I was still in the fight... I understand he was looking out for me and trying to do what he felt was right, but this is my life and my career and he has to accept my wishes."

Deontay Wilder is reportedly angry at his assistant trainer who ‘threw in the towel’ during his ill-fated bout with undefeated champion Tyson Fury, as the highly anticipated fight was stopped in the seventh-round via TKO.

Wilder’s assistant trainer, Mark Breland, told referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight roughly midway through the 7th as a wobbly Wilder appeared unable to fight back against an overpowering Tyson Fury.

Despite sweeping support for Breland’s decision to cut the fight short, as it was clear that Wilder was nearing an ugly fate, Wilder was livid that he wasn’t given the opportunity to ‘go out on my shield’ and said that he was ‘still in the fight’ and ‘still had five rounds left in me.'

Even though Wilder’s optimism was bold, the post-fight punch stats showed Wilder didn’t land a single jab in the fifth and sixth rounds while fans and his corner alike began to notice his balance deteriorating.

Much of the talk after the fight was theorizing why Wilder's balance and stance seemed off after the first two rounds. Many believed he might have suffered a broken jaw and ruptured eardrum early in the fight, in the type of head injury that would have affected greatly his equilibrium. Wilder disagreed, however, telling Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports he had tired legs because of the bulky weight of the glamourous costume he walked out to the ring in.

Wilder says Breland will no longer be a part of his group during fights.

Wilder’s head trainer Jay Deas agreed with Wilder, and said after the fight that he didn’t agree with Breland’s move.

Wilder says that he’s told his corner, under no circumstances, to ever throw in the towel while he’s fighting, no matter how dire the situation looks.