New York (AFP) – Heavyweight challenger Dominic Breazeale will carry a sizeable weight advantage into his grudge match with WBC champion Deontay Wilder at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Saturday.
Breazeale tipped the scales at 255 1/4 pounds (115.77 kilos) on Friday as he prepares to take on unbeaten champion Wilder.
Wilder meanwhile weighed in at 223 1/4 pounds, meaning Breazeale will have a 32-pound weight advantage when the two men face off.
Wilder’s weight was nearly 11 pounds heavier than his last outing, when he was held to a draw in a thrilling battle with Tyson Fury in Los Angeles last December.
Both Wilder and Breazeale faced off without incident in Friday’s weigh-in, which took place at the Long Island University Athletic Center.
Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) is strongly tipped to retain his title against mandatory challenger Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs).
The build-up to the fight has been marked by a series of macabre threats from Wilder, who has spoken of his willingness to cause a fatality in the ring.
“His life is on the line for this fight and I do mean his life,” Wilder said of Breazeale. “I am still trying to get me a body on my record.
“Dominic Breazeale asked for this. This is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time… If he dies, he dies.”
Wilder’s comments have appalled many in boxing, while WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has vowed to hold a hearing into the remarks.
“I have seen Deontay Wilder’s comments which are regrettable and completely against the spirit of our sport,” Sulaiman said Thursday.
“His metaphors are against the WBC code of ethics and will be addressed in a hearing.”
