Coach Malik Scott confirmed that his star ward – former WBC heavyweight champion American Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) – is aimed exclusively at fights with the best of the best.
It is for this reason that they will not be able to hold 3 fights a year, as previously planned. From
interview Scott: “I would like him to fight 3-4 times a year. But there is also a business side to the issue. And all these big fights have to move in a certain way. They need more time to develop and all that. If everything depended only on me, then in January Deontay would have started a full-fledged camp, and we would have had the next fight in early March. What fights am I talking about? About the title ones, of course.
According to Scott, “Negotiations are already underway with some of the fighters. I sincerely believed that Usyk would attend our fight with Robert Helenius. After all, he himself said so. But I understand that all his thoughts are only about Fury. That’s what I’m talking about – it’s a business. If everything depended only on me, Deontay would have had the next fight with Joshua. But Anthony is now talking about recovery and an interim fight. I don’t even know if it’s an affordable option. I guess he’s physically available, but not mentally. But Deontay is ready to fight anyone from the tops. Especially with the top 3: Usyk, Joshua and Fury.”
Scott claims that “First of all, the Wilder vs. Joshua fight should have happened a long time ago. Secondly, Joshua does not have many options after two consecutive defeats to Usyk. Thirdly, I know that Anthony is also a great fighter. But time goes by. So there is no need to keep postponing. We don’t want boxing to repeat situations where the greatest never fought each other. But such fights are not just good for boxing. They are good for the whole world, for culture, for the younger generation.”
Malik understands that Joshua will not come out against Wilder until he solves all his mental problems: “For this fight to take place, all parties must want it. We want. But does Anthony want to? Does the promoter want it? I understand that Joshua is not easy right now. He lost twice in a row to a much smaller fighter. And in order to enter the ring against Deontay, you need to be ready for this, first of all psychologically. It seems to me that their fight is a 3-round fight. Everything will be over quickly. And regardless of whether Anthony is ready mentally or not. Deontay is not the biggest guy. But this is his strength. His punches are very fast. You just don’t have time to react. And if you don’t make it, that’s it. You are in trouble. So once Joshua signs the contract, he’s in trouble.”
Scott even talked about Joshua’s intentions to find himself a new mentor: “I think the ideal option is Joe Goossen. I cannot understand how this could happen. Joshua’s team was in America, was in California. They went around a lot of coaches, but they were not at Goossen’s. Why? This is a mentor from the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He is good at everything. He is both a motivator and a strategist and tactician and is good at working in the corner. He is calm, keeps cool. He saw everything in boxing. There are no secrets for him. I think that they need Goossen. But they choose from something that absolutely does not suit Joshua. Why is that?”
Scott once again confirmed that he is not thrilled with the prospect of fighting Andy Ruiz in the final of the WBC eliminator: “I’m not that categorically against it. On the contrary, everything is OK. This is a financially good fight. And an eminent rival. I’m just saying that fights with Usyk or Joshua turn us on a lot more. After all, with the same Usyk, three championship titles would be at stake. And Andy has no titles. And when Deontay beats him… And I’m sure he will beat him… Then the fans will say: “Andy is cool, but not very.” Because people always say that. But I’ll be really excited: “Wow, we beat Ruiz – heaps of a tough and fast fighter.” Do you understand? Andy is a good fight. But for the fans, there are only three names for Wilder – this is Usyk, Joshua and the fourth fight with Fury.
Recently, Roy Jones shared his prediction for the Wilder-Ruiz fight. The WBC heard that Deontay was not happy with the idea of fighting Andy and have already reacted to the puncher’s statement.
