A good rule of thumb with regards boxing is to never trust the pre-bout hype.

There’s always a weigh-in push and shove, the press conferences involve name-calling, and the two fighters end up millimetres from touching lips whilst wearing super-toit undies.

[We’re not talking about UFC and Conor McGregor, where the pre-match trash talk ends in a mass brawl and ugly scenes.]

With that in mind, we should view the uproar surrounding heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder smashing an ESPN mascot in the face with a pinch of salt.

Below via eNCA:

Wilder, appearing on ESPN Nacion to promote his December title fight against Britain’s Tyson Fury, was asked to demonstrate his punching power by striking the mascot — a man inside a burrito-themed foam costume.

The blow knocked the sombrero-wearing mascot to the ground…

It’s fair to say Wilder didn’t hold back:

Despite reports, and the many mislabelled videos doing the rounds on social media (such as that one above), Wilder did not break the mascot’s jaw.

He made that clear on social media:

In case your eyes aren’t what they used to be, here’s the caption:

Yea, Anything headlining I didn’t know a “Human Being” was in there is just straight “Click Baiting”  like come on now, I guess the Mascot rolled out there. show so respect! I sincerely apologize to the brave man that was injured (if this is true)
I have the up most high respect for him, his participation, willingness and courage.  If this is true @nacionespn I personally would like to invite him to my Dec.1 fight. Word Is Bond.

Either way, I would say decking a mascot as hard as you can on live telly is an iffy choice at best.

A little part of me does wish that I could deck the #DayZero mascot the City of Cape Town rolled out earlier this year, but I’m not sure I would come out alive:

[source:enca]