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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox