According to WBC heavyweight champion Deontay "The Bronze Bomber" Wilder, he was fighting sickness prior to the first bout with Luis Ortiz in March 2018.
Wilder stopped Ortiz in the tenth round after scoring two knockdowns, but he also found himself in serious trouble when Ortiz badly hurt him in the seventh.
The rematch is scheduled to take place this coming Saturday night from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Because of the illness Wilder believes his performance was affected, predicts a more impressive outing this time around.
"I'm looking to beat Ortiz in even more dramatic fashion. When we fought the first time, I had a bad flu. I could have called off the fight but I want to be able to do things that other fighters shouldn't or wouldn't do," Wilder said.
Wilder expects Ortiz to make a lot of adjustments from the first contest, and Wilder is planning to make a lot of adjustments of his own.
"With Ortiz we know that he's a smart fighter and a great counter puncher. He's really good at what he does. I'm the only person in the top five who's given him the opportunity," Wilder said.
"I don't think I threw enough jabs at him in the first fight. The positioning of my feet was not as good as it could be. The movement that we have is very awkward when you have an orthodox fighter against a southpaw. I'm looking forward to making it another great fight.
"I'm planning to stress Ortiz out. I've never been good with predictions. My energy for this fight makes me want to say to everyone, be careful in that first round. I'm the kind of fighter where you can't blink. You're always on the edge of your seat and you never know what's going to happen."
