Wilder suspended for six months after hospital trip
Deontay Wilder has been handed a six-month medical suspension after receiving hospital treatment following his defeat to Tyson Fury in Las Vegas last weekend.
Wilder, knocked out in the 11th round of his trilogy fight, was taken immediately for checks with doctors, and now needs surgery on a badly broken hand.
As a result, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has suspended the American until April 8, meaning he cannot return to the ring until that
date unless he is medically cleared. His co-manager, Shelly Finkel, has said Wilder broke his right hand behind the third knuckle, which is to be “fixed next week”. “He has to have surgery, the knuckle is OK – it’s the bone behind the knuckle that broke,” he told The Sun newspaper.
“He’s sore, but he was OK. He was home yesterday. He’s healing and at this point, if everything is OK, after the hand surgery he’ll probably look to enter the ring mid next year, like April or May.”
Fury has also been handed a standard 45-day suspension after inflicting back-to-back defeats on Wilder. There has been no love lost between Fury and Wilder since the fight took place. The Briton branded Wilder an “idiot” and “sore loser” after his knockout, coming back from two knockdowns in one of the most entertaining of heavyweight fights.
The pair did not exchange typical post-fight pleasantries, with Fury claiming Wilder said he did not “want to show any sportsmanship or respect” to his opponent after the “Gypsy King” went over to say well done. When asked what he said to Wilder, Fury said: “I just said, ‘Well done,’ and he said, ‘I don’t wanna show any sportsmanship or respect.’ I said, ‘No problem.’ Very surprised. Sore loser. Idiot.”
The pair put on a brilliant show for the Las Vegas crowd and the millions watching across the world, with both recovering from hitting the canvas in the early rounds.