Trainer Malik Scott discusses Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder
Speaking to Betway, boxer-turned-trainer Malik Scott said that the potential Anthony Joshua fight with Deontay Wilder is ‘almost’ signed.
Rumours of a four-man heavyweight tournament in the Middle East at the end of the year has been circulating for a few weeks and, although the reigning champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk aren't guaranteed to be involved, it seems that former world champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will be going ahead with their fight anyway.
Both boxers have returned from back to back defeats to notch another win on their records, with American Wilder destroying friend and sparring partner Robert Helenius in one round in October last year, and Briton Joshua widely outpointing Jermaine Franklin in April.
Here's what the 42-year-old Philadelphian had to say:
Fight between Wilder and Joshua is ‘almost’ signed
"Without going into too much detail about the business aspect of it, everything's been said, talked about, negotiated, but nothing's been signed.
"But signing is almost upon us. But the negotiations definitely are happening. The moves are being made. The business aspect is definitely being taken care of, and most of all Deontay Wilder is being taken care of and is going to get paid very well for his services, and that's the most important part to me.
"I can confirm that the aim is to make both fights in one night, but the only fight that I know for sure if there's a strong possibility of it happening and is being negotiated is Deontay and AJ.
Wilder KOs Joshua in round three or four
"My prediction is a third or fourth round knockout, Deontay wins by knockout. I don’t want to come down too hard on AJ or anything like that but he isn't in the same class as Deontay. He’s going out there with a systemised gameplans now, he's going out with a system of discipline and humility, and I believe if he sticks with that system there is not a man that can beat him.
"This is going to sound bad but I don't care. If a C+ fighter that really believes in himself is against Anthony Joshua, he has a very good chance at beating AJ. You could be a C+ guy, but if you really believe, and you train hard, and you work hard, and you take advantage of the loopholes of AJ you could beat him.
"I’m not afraid of him fighting, but let's say I don't agree with AJ having an interim fight. I want us to be next to knock out Anthony Joshua. The way that he's looking now, he may not make it to December. There’s just no telling. But we'll see, he's with Derrick James now, one of the best trainers in the game.
Joshua only wants Wilder in December, no-one else!
"I don't trust AJ fighting Dillian Whyte in the summertime before us. I’d much rather us get the fight, and he just waits. Just continue to develop and sharpen up mentally. And then in December he goes with Deontay and let nature take its course. But how he looked in his last fight there’s no telling if he will make it.
"There’s no telling if Deontay will fight between now and December. Absolutely I would like to fight between now and December. That's no secret at all. Andy Ruiz is right there in the mix. But there is never any telling. Anything can happen. We’re one move away from making very crucial decisions for the better of Deontay’s career.
"For Deontay not to fight between now and December, the compensation that Deontay would need to receive would have to be extremely high because once again he's a businessman, he doesn't sit around and wait. So if he considers sitting around and waiting, then he will have to be compensated, and he will have to be compensated very, very well, because that means he's putting a lot of opportunities on hold, putting his legacy on hold, and to do that you have to compensate a man like Deontay.
"The Saudis understand that type of business, so that wouldn't even be an issue.
"That's something that they know. If we want them to wait then we have to do this. These guys are real businessmen. They know what they want for the country. They know what they want to do and how they want to do it.
"Forget what I'm saying, look at what AJ’s saying and how he’s representing himself. He’s basically saying he doesn't want another fight, just him and Wilder and December. I haven't heard him talk about anyone else but Deontay lately, and this is the first time AJ has been public with it. He's putting it out there for a reason. He knows it’s a very, very big fight and he's also aware of how he looked in his last fight, so he's trying to beat the clock. I'm not mad at him. I understand business, and this is a big business.
"We won’t be waiting until the end of summer to get this signed. I could promise you that. We will definitely know before July."
Fury could stop Saudi bill from happening
"Everybody knows anything that concerns Fury, you can never put your chips in.
"Anything that concerns Fury, you just can’t bet on because one day he'll be fighting and the next he will be retiring. He can be very unpredictable. But what I can tell you is – with or without Tyson Fury – Deontay and AJ is being negotiated for Saudi Arabia.
"Deontay doesn't believe nothing is happening until it's done because a lot of these guys he’s been trying to fight before. AJ is one guy he's been chasing for quite some time and he kind of gave up on the fight a while ago. In my opinion, the Sheiks have rebirthed the fight because Deontay was chasing the fight before, AJ made a financial command, Deontay came up with the finances and the fight still did happen."
I am confident fight between Wilder and AJ will happen
"Obviously it’s very exciting, but unfortunately in boxing you can't get too excited because the fight is not over until it is actually over. That's how I look at it. It's obviously one of the biggest cards, one of the biggest events of all time in my opinion and Deontay is playing a huge, huge part of it, and me being his head coach, obviously that puts me in the mix as well.
"Out of all the heavyweights, Deontay is the best to me, the most dynamic, has the most electrifying attributes and I'm really, really looking forward to it. It's just in boxing we hope things materialise.
"I feel very strongly that this is going to happen, definitely more than a 50 percent mark. I am 70-75-possibly-80 percent sure this happens. The only thing that gives me any doubt is because I know the sport that I'm in. I know how beautiful it is, but I know how it can let you down at times when it comes to big fights getting made. I'm not getting too excited."
Article sponsored by HÖRFA
