As Deontay Wilder moves closer to a long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua in December, his coach, Malik Scott, has discussed what might happen in the mean time.
Wilder and Joshua could’ve once fought to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion. Despite both losing their belts since then, the transatlantic contest is no less intriguing.
Any previous disputes in negotiations seem to have been sorted by the interest of Saudi Arabia and the huge purses that come with it. All of the talk points towards a December clash, and those on the inside say it could be signed as soon as this week.
So what do they do in the interim? Whilst Joshua is to-ing and fro-ing on his plans, his American dance partner seems quite clear on his situation – either he fights, or he gets paid to sit out.
Scott explained the situation to Betway.
“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.”
The trainer, who was been with Wilder since 2021, went on to say that the compensation would have to be ‘extremely high.’
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.”
There’s perhaps one more factor that could come into play. Wilder is ranked number two with the WBA, who are currently attempting to organise their mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois, to fight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Should Dubois pull out – which many feel he might – Wilder will be getting the call.