By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Dominic Breazeale believes he is two days away from exacting his revenge.

Breazeale told Deontay Wilder during a press conference Thursday at Barclays Center that he’ll make the WBC heavyweight champion pay for the trouble he caused Breazeale, his wife and their children two years ago in the lobby of a Birmingham hotel. Their 12-round fight Saturday night is much more personal for Wilder and Breazeale because of the confrontation they had in February 2017 at The Westin Birmingham.

The incident began at nearby Legacy Arena, where Wilder and Breazeale scored respective knockouts against Gerald Washington and Izu Ugonoh.

After Wilder stopped Washington in the fifth round, Wilder’s younger brother, Marsellos, and Breazeale got in an argument at ringside. Their disagreement turned physical once they arrived at The Westin Birmingham.

Once Deontay Wilder came to the hotel, he got into a physical altercation with Breazeale as well.

They have different accounts of the events of that night, which they briefly debated during the press conference. Breazeale obviously disputes what Wilder says happened.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I didn’t know this was gonna be comedy hour,” said Breazeale, who filed a lawsuit against Wilder following the ugly incident. “Like I said last time, Deontay Wilder loves his voice. And we can’t get that man to shut up. Saturday night, he’s gonna pay for every lie he’s made up, every thought he’s thought of and every punch he’s thought about hitting me with. I know this man keeps referencing this Alabama crazy nonsense. In that hotel lobby, I haven’t had to come up with a story, I haven’t had to change anything and I haven’t had to lie time and time again. My wife, my kids were involved in that situation.

“Every man sitting in this room, your wife and your kids were involved in that situation, where they can think about and it brings it up every time this man’s ugly face passes by or comes up on a social media event, oh, you better believe he’s gonna pay for every single moment of that lobby night – and then some. Because if he’s gonna continue to lie and lie and lie, and go on episodes and TV shows and radio and podcasts – if a real man knew what he did wrong and understood what he did wrong, he’d step up to the plate and take this ass-whupping like a man.”

Wilder interrupted Breazeale while his mandatory challenger explained what happened in Birmingham.

“Where were your children at?,” Wilder asked. “Where was your wife at?”

Breazeale replied, “You were screaming at my wife’s face, right in that damn lobby, just like the ignorant individual that you are. No class, low-down, dirty scoundrel.”

Wilder contended that his brother actually protected Breazeale’s two children while that dangerous situation unfolded.

“Your wife was yelling like Xena: Warrior Princess,” Wilder said. “That’s what she was doing. And your kids was with my brother. My brother was protecting your kids, son. My brother was protecting your kids. But you’re gonna pay.”

Showtime will air the battle between Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs), of Eastvale, California. It’ll be the main event of a three-bout broadcast set to start at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.