Deontay Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, has let loose on Anthony Joshua following months of negotiations coming to nothing.
Whilst both teams are adamant that the fight is still at the top of their lists, a shift in the boxing landscape in Saudi Arabia saw a lucrative offer taken from the table and the promoters scrambling for other sites.
However, speaking to FightHype, an animated Scott didn’t blame the fight’s sticking point on Saudi or the business, but Joshua himself.
“AJ is cool if he go his whole career without fighting Deontay. He don’t really mind it. You don’t see him fighting for it. It’s the fighters at the end of the point. I don’t care what Shelly and Al Haymon saying, you see Deontay out there calling fighters out. You have to take some of this from yourself.”
Scott believes that there’s a simple reason Joshua isn’t vocal about making the fight happen – he knows he would be knocked out.
“Yeah your promoter and manager are part of it, but as a fighter you have to do your job and get the big fights done. To me, AJ doesn’t campaign about the fight enough. He doesn’t really want it – and we all know why. Because stylistically he’s picture perfect to be knocked the f**k out by Deontay.”
Unlike some of his heavyweight rivals, the Brit rarely makes a point of calling out names publicly. His team have said on numerous occasions that the Wilder fight is still what he wants, although another potential opponent in Filip Hrgovic may make sense now.
Whatever happens, the general consensus is that both former champions must fight at the top level.
Joshua has been busy this year with two build-back fights under new trainer Derrick James, but they must lead to a tougher test. As for Wilder, he has now been out of the ring for twelve months, and even then that fight lasted all of one round.