Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder shutdown pre-match talk with one violent punch in the first round of last night’s title defense against Dominic Breazeale.
Wilder and Breazeale had been talking trash to each other for two years following a dust-up in an Alabama hotel lobby.
The talk ended abruptly in the ring:
Deontay Wilder. GOODNIGHT. #SCtop10 (via @Showtime) pic.twitter.com/IAY9PrHnZp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 19, 2019
The two fighters seemed to end their dispute after the match:
“I think the ref stopped it a little early because I could hear him saying seven and eight, but that’s boxing,” Breazeale said. “He did his job and kept us safe for our next fight. I got on my feet and had my legs under me. It’s the heavyweight division so there’s going to big shots from guys with power.
“This was a situation where [Wilder] landed the big right hand before I did. I thought I was going to come on in the later rounds. I’ll be back and go for the heavyweight title again.”
Despite the bad blood between them leading up to the fight — which included Wilder advising Breazeale to have his family make funeral arrangements — the two shared a hug after the fight. The beef which began two years ago with a melee in an Alabama hotel lobby appeared to be squashed.
“I just told Breazeale I love him and of course I want to see him go home to his family,” Wilder said. “I know we say some things but when you can fight a man and then you can hug him and kiss him, I wish the world was like that. We shake hands and we live to see another day and that’s what it’s all about.”
Wilder improved to 41-0-1 with 40 knockouts. Breazeale is now 20-2 with 18 KOs in his professional career.
