Deontay Wilder's ex-coach makes honest admission after he was sacked by ex-world champion
Deontay Wilder 's former coach, Malik Scott, has revealed that he was not taken aback by his dismissal prior to the 'Bronze Bomber's' return to the ring.
Scott had been a key part of Wilder's team since suffering a knockout at the hands of the 'Bronze Bomber' in 2014. The two developed a strong bond and Scott was later elevated to head coach in 2021, just in time for the American's epic trilogy bout with Tyson Fury, which ultimately ended in defeat for Wilder.
Under Scott's guidance, Wilder's performances were below par, securing only one victory against Robert Helenius in 2022, followed by consecutive losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. When Wilder geared up for his fight against Tyrrell Herndon last month, Scott was surprisingly absent, and it was subsequently confirmed that the pair had parted ways.
Speaking to Thunderpick, Scott shared his thoughts on the termination of his coaching role. "Did I sense it was coming? I'll say this, I wasn't surprised because you just never know how a fighter is. The media runs with things, story after story."
He added: I'm sure he's hearing things on his side about what I am, and what I'm not, like in the media certain platforms just running with what I did to him, just so much stuff. And he already got so much pressure on him wanting to get better mentally and so forth, so it wasn't surprising, it wasn't surprising at all," reports All Out Fighting.
The boxing coach has spoken out, insisting that his departure from Wilder's corner was not due to a lack of skill. "I'm sure it's not because I'm some awful trainer, like that's not why [he ended it], sometimes fighters do what they need to do spiritually for themselves, to get themselves better, to get themselves remotivated, to get themselves rejuvenated."
Scott revealed that despite Wilder's recent defeats, their parting was amicable and not based on performance. "He personally called me. We talked about it, he said 'I'm gonna do something different, I want to switch things up a bit' as far as the head coach thing goes. Right when he said it, I didn't ask why, I thanked him for bringing me on," he said.
"I got real love for Deontay. I want the best for him, and if the best for him is without me, nobody wants that more than me. What I don't want is for me to be around and I'm not the best thing for him. We lost the Tyson Fury fight together, we lost Joe Parker, and we lost Zhang together, and we got an incredible knockout with Robert Helenius together, but we lost two fights back to back. Deontay can lose fights with anyone in his corner, that's just boxing, that has nothing to do with Malik Scott. It's really just boxing and life too."
Wilder's decision to shake things up seems to have been a smart choice, as he secured his first victory in three years against Herndon. Although the bout didn't quite meet the hype, Wilder managed to deliver a knockout blow to the seasoned American fighter in the seventh round.
When is Deontay Wilder's next fight?
Wilder has his sights set on climbing back into the ring at least once more before the year is out, with Anthony Joshua's name being bandied about as a potential opponent. 'AJ', currently on the mend from elbow surgery, is tipped to be ready for action again later this year.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, spilled the beans to Sky Sports, saying: "I know he's [Wilder] a name that's been mentioned. There is a potential that AJ could fight Deontay Wilder in October, November, December, and then fight Tyson Fury, and then he's kind of got the full set in terms of every elite heavyweight of this generation, he's faced in the ring."
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