Today, streaming live at 1:00 p.m. ET, Showtime will host the final press conference for Deontay Wilder’s heavyweight title defense against Dominic Breazeale. And if you didn’t know by now, these two dudes hate each other, so there will probably be some harsh words and maybe even a dust-up during the event. Get ready to clutch your pearls!
Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) enters this fight coming off a much disputed draw against Tyson Fury last year. There were talks for an immediate rematch, and it seemed to nearly be finalized, but then Fury pulled out of the fight once he signed a deal with Top Rank/ESPN. That move left Wilder in search of another dance partner, and he ultimately took up this WBC mandatory title defense.
Meanwhile Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs) comes into this world title fight just three fights removed from his last shot at a major title. Breazeale took Anthony Joshua in the summer of 2016, but would get stopped in seven rounds. Breazeale just recently said that the Joshua fight was a good experience for him, an ‘eye opener’, and expects to use that experience to get over the hump this time.
All of that aside, there’s of course the personal vendetta angle these two have been playing up. Wilder and Breazeale got into a hotel scuffle some years back, and neither fighter has really been able to let go of that confrontation ever since.
Anyway, tune in with all of us here at BLH to hear all the crazy things these fighters will say!