Deontay Wilder says 20-hour plane journey to Saudi Arabia and lack of sparring led to defeat against Joseph Parker

DEONTAY WILDER said a 20-hour plane journey to Saudi Arabia and lack of sparring led to his downfall against Joseph Parker.

Wilder came back after nearly two years out the ring in December against former world champion Parker.

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Joseph Parker beat Deontay Wilder on points[/caption]

A super-fight with Anthony Joshua was already signed and ready to be sealed for March.

But Wilder returned to the ring gun-shy and laboured to a points loss – with fans and pundits scratching their heads at the performance.

The American has now broken his silence following the defeat and suggested his flight from Saudi was in part to blame.

Wilder, 38, told ESNews: “It’s just the beginning of what I’m capable of doing with less than three weeks to train.

“And even in the training for that I had to travel two times, that was 20 hours of travelling and those guys were already in Europe.

“They are only two/three hours away. I had to go to ten-12 hours hours with the whole trip. Breaking camp, all those things.

“I’m not complaining, I’m just saying what I had to go through.”

Wilder infamously blamed his 2020 stoppage loss to Tyson Fury on a heavy ring walk outfit, having his water SPIKED and his own coach conspiring against him.

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And the ex-WBC champion – who fought Parker on five weeks notice – also blamed a shortage of sparring sessions as another factor for defeat.

He said: “Camp-wise, we were prepared for everything.

“Sparring went well, we didn’t get enough sparring that we wanted to get in with the time period that we had but we got some good sparring in.

“And the sessions that we got in, they were good sessions but when I got into the actual ring it was a little hard for me to pull the trigger as people saw.

“My timing was very off, I would come back to the ring and be like, ‘Damn, why can’t I pull the trigger? What the f***.’

“I had those moments but it’s okay. I’m glad I got to experience a lot of things that’s it in boxing.

“A lot of things I had to go through that I never thought I’d have to experience in life. But sometimes it’s like that.”