Deontay Wilder will be ordered to appear in front of the World Boxing Council after making unsavoury comments about killing a person inside the ring this week.
The WBC world champion revisited his unhealthy obsession with claiming a ‘body on his record’ in the lead up to his title defence against heavyweight rival Dominic Breazeale in New York this weekend.
Wilder said: “This is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time. It’s legal. [Breazeale’s] life is on the line for this fight and I do mean his life. I am still trying to get me a body on my record.”
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman issued a statement confirming that Wilder will face action for his ‘regrettable’ comments. “I have known Wilder for a long time and he is not the person he portrays in such comments,” Sulaiman wrote on Twitter. “His metaphors are against the WBC code of ethics and will be addressed in a hearing.”
Wilder has previously alluded to the prospect of ending an opponent’s life, making similar comments last March - which many in the sport condemned. Breazeale, however, has brushed off Wilder’s warning by dismissing it as an empty ploy to intimidate him.
He added: “I’ve been staying away from the social media stuff, I’ve been staying away from the interviews and things, Wilder has been saying some crazy stuff. I don’t think he means it.”
“I think he’s in a situation where he’s got to talk and talk and talk until he finally feels comfortable with what he’s doing. He’s got to build himself up just so he’s able to feel like he can do this. I haven’t looked at it the way most people have looked at it.”
“I know he said he wanted a body on his record and he wanted to kill me, or whatever may be, let him say all he wants to say. That’s like a little Chihuahua barking at the fence and as soon as the fence gets opened up he’s like, ‘Uhh, what do I do now?
“So come Saturday night, man on man, one on one, we’re going to square off. You’ve got to do what you’ve been saying you’re going to do.”
