WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) has taken his rivalry with Dominic Breazeale (19-1, 17 KOs) to a new level.
Their rivalry first began in 2017, in the aftermath of Wilder's defense against Gerald Washington in February of that year at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
Breazeale fought on the undercard in a Fight of The Year candidate when he knocked out undefeated Izuagbe Ugonoh in the fifth round of a wild brawl.
At some point during the event, some words were exchanged at ringside between Breazeale and Wilder's brother.
The tension then blew over to a hotel lobby, where a scuffle broke out.
Breazeale, who filed an actual lawsuit over the incident, claimed in the legal documents that he was going back to his hotel room when Wilder and his entourage attacked him without provocation.
Wilder has a much different recollection of the post-fight events.
In November of 2017 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Breazeale knocked out Eric Molina to become the mandatory challenger to Wilder's title. Wilder fought in the main event, when he blew away Bermane Stiverne in one round.
Over the last few months, Wilder and Breazeale have been trading words in the press.
Wilder, who is clearly agitated by some of Breazeale's statements, has created a lot of controversy by making their rivalry very personal with a comment about Breazeale's son.
"We already know what Dominic Breazeale is doing. He’s trying to talk me into fighting him - which is not working. My mind is already made up on that Breazeale fight, and when it do happen I'm gonna make sure he brings his son on the stage to look the man in the eye that’s gonna cripple his daddy,” Wilder told Fighthype.com.
It's not the first time where Wilder was in hot water for making controversial comments.
Earlier this year, Wilder found himself under fire after appearing on a radio show and discussing his desire to catch "a body" one day on his record - indicating that he would not be bothered if one of his opponents was killed from fight related injuries.
Tyson Fury, who is very well known for making controversial statements himself, was shocked at Wilder's recent comments.
"Saying stuff like that is out of order & sad. To involve a child, I pray for everyone I fight to do their best & get home safely. There is too much BS like this in boxing," Fury stated.
Wilder and Fury are close to a deal to fight each other in November.
