Teddy Atlas had no problem with Deontay Wilder not shaking hands with Tyson Fury.
Wilder suffered a brutal 11th-round knockout defeat to Fury in their trilogy match this past weekend for the WBC heavyweight title.
It was the third knockdown of the night for Fury as he dished out a heap of punishment on Wilder over the course of the 11 rounds.
Given the animosity and trash talk between the pair going into the trilogy, many had hoped the pair would bury the hatchet and embrace each other after the fight.
To his part, Fury tried to do just that only to later reveal that Wilder didn’t want any part of showing any love and respect back to the Briton — which led to the latter stating he would pray for him.
After 33 rounds, @Tyson_Fury pays respect to Deontay Wilder.
These men have shared something special. pic.twitter.com/f4wrY3ohez
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) October 10, 2021
Atlas: There’s Something To Be Said About Sore Losers
While Atlas wasn’t making excuses for Wilder, he does acknowledge that there’s something admirable about being a sore loser in sports.
He made the point to just look at Michael Jordan.
“I’m not here to make excuses, but I will say that there’s something to be said about being a sore loser,” Atlas told Submission Radio. “Michael Jordan wasn’t too good of a winner, I don’t think. And I’m walking a fine line here, but I know what I’m walking. How many of you – I know if you were involved with him – would you rather see Joshua just a little less of a good loser? Just a little less of a good loser when he lost to Ruiz and then when he recently lost to Usyk? A little less accepting. So graciously of losing.
“I’m not saying don’t be a gentleman. I’m not saying that. But there is something to be said about being too gracious, giving it up too easily, too casually, as though it’s not that important. And there’s something to be said about that.”
Of course, there could be other factors at play. Namely the fact that Wilder took career-changing damage from Fury which may have affected his judgement.
“And also, there’s something to be said about, this man was concussed,” Atlas added. “You don’t need a doctor or a CT scan to tell you that Wilder was concussed. He was concussed. And to have to do that when you’re concussed, I’m not making excuses for him, but that is part of what we’re talking about, you know, being in the scenario of this right now, that he just came off a terrible beating, a brutal fight, a brutal fight.
“And maybe you need to give a guy like that a little time to find the noble part of him that he showed in fighting.”
You can watch the full interview below:
