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By: Hans Themistode
There’s a sharp, painful feeling currently coursing through the back of Deontay Wilder. As he reaches around to find out exactly what it is, he notices the cold, sharp steel associated with a knife protruding from his spine. For years the former WBC heavyweight belt holder fought foe after foe head-on but he had no idea that his greatest rival would come from someone in the form of a former close friend and mentor.
“Sometimes it ain’t the enemy,” said Wilder during an interview with 78 Sports TV about his former co-trainer Mark Breland. “Sometimes it’s the mother f**kers that are right there. Let that coward-ass n*gga do what he do. He’s a b*tch.
What first appeared to be an act done out of concern and worry, has quickly turned into betrayal. Roughly one year ago, Wilder suffered the most brutal beating of his career at the hands of Tyson Fury. The normal jaw shattering power that comes to the Alabama native’s rescue abandoned him on the night.
Round after round Breland watched from his seat as his long-standing champion was simply getting pummeled. With flashbacks of his own knockout losses during his career, Breland couldn’t stomach the beating Wilder was taking and decided to throw in the white towel to put an end to it.
Breland’s decision to end their contest however, came at the expense of his job as Wilder ultimately let him go and essentially attacked his character as he made his way out the door. For months on end, Wilder called Breland a snake for stopping the contest and accused him of spiking his drinking water amongst other things. Yet, regardless of the disparaging words Wilder used as he threw his former co-trainer out the door, the former heavyweight titlist couldn’t believe Breland’s retort.
“His career is done now,” said Breland during an interview with The Fight is Righ1. “I’m done and he’s done.”
Now, as if he were the one who was attacked first, Wilder has thrown his hands up in confusion.
“It’s like, where is it all coming from? Is it because of where I am in life and your career was short? It’s all making sense now. He’s been envying me, he’s been jealous. Now all this shit is truly coming out.”
Furthermore, Wilder’s incoherence of Breland’s words has stretched out even more. The relationship the two possessed appeared to be a good one. But behind the scenes, Wilder believes they had a great one. That in part, makes the words of Breland even more painful when as believed there was a level of reverence between the two.
“This man was around me for so long. I fed this dude. Even when many people thought I outgrew him. Many wanted me to fire him, but I kept him on board. And to hear all these things that he’s saying, it’s crazy. You should have been gone a long time ago because of the love that I had, to continue to give you a job.”
“Even after the fact with all the medical issues that he personally has going on with himself, I still kept him around. For him to betray me and say all this stuff, it is a little hurtful only for these simple facts that how close I had him with my family. It just allows me to believe that he had something deeper rooted about me. I can understand why. What the f–k did I do? He knows what type of person I am. He knows I look out for people. Something deeply embedded in him for him to feel some kind of way.”
