Deontay Wilder is on a mission — and not afraid to talk about it — as he prepares to defend his piece of the heavyweight title Saturday against Dominic Breazeale in New York.
Wilder recently appeared on the Associated Press PodcastOne Sports Now podcast, telling co-hosts Jim Litke and Tim Dahlberg that he is eager to teach Breazeale a lesson for speaking badly about him and wants to show the world he is the real heavyweight champion.
"I want to demolish him. I want to deteriorate his face," Wilder said. "It's all bad intentions."
Wilder's fight with Breazeale at Barclay's Center in Brooklyn comes two weeks before England's Anthony Joshua defends his titles against Andy Ruiz Jr. Wilder has been campaigning for a unification fight with Joshua, and claims Joshua is trying to avoid him.
Wilder has been criticized for his aggressive comments in the past, and told other media outlets Tuesday that "[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."
When asked to clarify what exactly Wilder meant by the remarks, the BBC reports Wilder responded:
"...This is a brutal sport. This is not a gentleman sport. We don't ask to hit each other in the face but we do anyway. And you can ask any doctor around the world, he will tell you, your head is not meant to be hit. On this particular time we have bad blood against each other. This is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time. It's legal. So why not use my right to do so?"
Wilder boasts a professional record of 40-0-1 with 39 knockouts and a single draw in his most recent bout against Tyson Fury in December.
