By Jake Donovan, photos by Stephanie Trapp
The pre-fight tension continues to exist between Deontay Wilder and Artur Szpilka, though calmer heads helped prevent additional outbursts during Friday's weigh-in ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, which also hosts Saturday's live Showtime-televised action.
Wilder tipped the scales at 228.75 lbs. for the third defense of his heavyweight title, while Szpilka checked in at 233.25 lbs. for his first career title fight.
A pair of unbeaten first-time title challengers comprise make for the evening's co-feature, as Charles Martin and Vyacheslav Glazkov vie for a vacant belt. Martin tipped the scales at a career-heaviest 249 lbs., while the much smaller Glazkov was on the opposite end of the spectrum in weighing in at a career-low 218 lbs.
Given their personalities, tempers were expected to eventually flare between Wilder and Szpilka. Both are outspoken outside the ring and generally fun to watch once the opening bell sounds.
The two camps managed to generally avoid one another while sharing the same space. However, things reached a boiling point during - of all things - a photo shoot at the top of the World Trade Center in New York City. What initially appeared to be posturing during a face-to-face verbal exchange turned into a brief shoving match before the two heavyweights were immediately separated.
A similar level of intensity existed on stage during Friday's weigh-in - perhaps a good thing for the festivities as it is utterly pointless for heavyweights given the division's unlimited weight limit.
Nevertheless, both fighters look to be in solid physical condition for the 2016 season premiere of Showtime Championship Boxing (Saturday, 10:00 p.m. ET). Their obligatory stare down was without incident, other than hard looks offered by both boxers toward one another.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox