American Malik Scott has not held official fights since 2016, but is known as one of the most popular sparring partners for the world’s top heavyweights. He was in the camp of Ukrainian champion Oleksandr Usyk, who is preparing for today’s rematch with Briton Anthony Joshua.
And Scott is also known for having recently become the head coach of ex-WBC heavyweight champion compatriot Deontay Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs). Together they last year gave a tough fight to Briton Tyson Fury, but he snatched an early victory.
The other day it became known that Wilder will resume performances in October – he will fight with a veteran from Finland Robert Helenius (31-3, 20 KOs).
Scott on his mentee’s comeback: “I know Deontay will be the same. After all, it depends only on one thing – the damage received in the ring. And he had very few such fights: the second and third fights with Fury. Yes, even Luis Ortiz gave him a hell of a fight, made him work out his fee. Especially in the first fight. Everything. He had no more difficult fights. And this means that everything depends on his preparation, work in the gym. I will say more, I expect him to come back even stronger. Everything will be fine with him, because he is incredibly strong psychologically.
On who Wilder is currently training with: “Together with Don House (third coach), they are working on endurance right now. Deontay is showing never-before-seen numbers in the number of punches thrown per round. He works very hard. And he is learning at the same time. And I’m with him.”
On what Wilder is working on: “The challenge now is to learn how to mask the signature shots. That is, he reached a level where absolutely everyone already knows his strengths. Therefore, we need to learn how to mask blows, feint, do all this at the top level.
On the Helenius fight: “Our job is to make sure he follows the fight plan. That he will find the moment and finish the fight with an incredible knockout, performed with surgical precision. And all this is due to the disciplined execution of the battle plan.
Wilder and Helenius have already made their first announcements ahead of the face-to-face fight. Promoter Eddie Hearn suggests that Deontay might hit Robert.
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