Wilder and his team between the rounds

He was doing it from round 1 though. Although in the build up I did get the impression he was aiming for a credible loss over a victory. He kept talking about how he would have knocked out Fury if he had him staggered like he was in fight 2. Seemed a very weird thing to continue raising since you have to be dominated for several rounds to be in that state.

 

Interesting points.

I did state my opinion, shortly prior to the third bout, that Wilder was sporting the demeanour of a man headed to the gallows but trying to convince himself he could somehow escape his fate. I believe that he channeled his fear on the night and came to the ring with a sincere intent to win or die trying.

Anyone could perceive that Wilder's ego was greatly bruised by the events of the second fight, but I think even moreso than would be expected of a proud fighter. The first fight hurt his ego, too, for that matter, but especially the second. I think those unhealed emotional wounds from the 2020 bout conspired with the memory/knowledge of what he was up against (that gallows demeanour) to make every relative achievement a moral victory for him, from getting off to a busy start and winning the 1st to simply hanging in there and punching back in those later rounds.

 

Wilder gets too much disrespect on this forum. Perhaps because of his poor boxing skills and inability to fill stadiums, be a marketable star but he has shown that he can dig deep in a war. Wheras AJ Imo is extremely over paid with respect to his actual boxing ability and heart.

AJ and Wilder are pretty much equal as far as I am concerned. AJs resume isn't all that superior, he's benefited immensely from Match room advantages. I bet Whyte beats him solidly in a rematch