Breazeale heavier for Wilder showdown

WBC champion Wilder will take on Dominic Breazeale at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Saturday.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Heavyweight challenger Dominic Breazeale will carry a sizeable weight advantage into his grudge match with WBC champion Deontay Wilder at Brooklyn s Barclays Center on Saturday.

Breazeale tipped the scales at 255 1/4 pounds (115.77 kilos) on Friday as he prepares to take on unbeaten champion Wilder.

Wilder meanwhile weighed in at 223 1/4 pounds, meaning Breazeale will have a 32-pound weight advantage when the two men face off.

Wilder s weight was nearly 11 pounds heavier than his last outing, when he was held to a draw in a thrilling battle with Tyson Fury in Los Angeles last December.

Both Wilder and Breazeale faced off without incident in Friday s weigh-in, which took place at the Long Island University Athletic Center.

Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) is strongly tipped to retain his title against mandatory challenger Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs).

The build-up to the fight has been marked by a series of macabre threats from Wilder, who has spoken of his willingness to cause a fatality in the ring.

"His life is on the line for this fight and I do mean his life," Wilder said of Breazeale. "I am still trying to get me a body on my record.

"Dominic Breazeale asked for this. This is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time... If he dies, he dies."

Wilder s comments have appalled many in boxing, while WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has vowed to hold a hearing into the remarks.

"I have seen Deontay Wilder s comments which are regrettable and completely against the spirit of our sport," Sulaiman said Thursday.

"His metaphors are against the WBC code of ethics and will be addressed in a hearing."