Deontay Wilder is on the comeback trail after a loss last time out and now his trainer has revealed the rather surprising location the pair are training in for Zhilei Zhang.
Wilder lost a wide decision on points last time out when he fought Joseph Parker on the Day of Reckoning card on December 23rd out in Saudi Arabia. He hardly threw any shots, let alone land any, and later blamed it on a new found happiness following an ayahuasca retreat he had been on.
Since then, the former WBC heavyweight king and notorious knockout artist who is best known for his epic trilogy with Tyson Fury has vowed he will be back to his explosive best on June 1 when he takes on Zhang, who also lost to Parker last time out, on the 5 on 5 Matchroom versus Queensberry card in Saudi Arabia.
Now, his trainer Malik Scott has spoken to Casino Online about their training methods for the comeback fight.
“Four times a week we’re going back to the same running track he used at the start of his career, when he had nothing, when he was a skinny kid trying to work out how he was going to feed his daughter. It’s at the high school he went to, he’s walking on his old turf in this camp.
“Previously, we trained at his home or a fitness gym, but this time we are back on the same track he was on as a kid. When you take things back to when you were hungry, when you had absolutely nothing, it puts you in the mental space of not having nothing.
“He’s training in a gym where the walls are raggedy, the posters are falling off, the place isn’t brand new. We are in these trenches everyday and it will give him that violent mentality, because that’s the mentality he had before he became world champion. He’s very aware of the position he’s in. We lost a very important fight and we need a statement.”
Scott then said that Wilder is back to his old best and ready to fight once more.
“He’s re-motivated, the animal has reawakened inside of him. It’s sad it’s taken a loss to do that, but that’s what it took. We’re holding him back this time, that’s how hard he’s going.
“We’re saving him from himself, making sure he’s resting properly, because he wants this so bad. He wants people to know daddy’s back. He wants people to know the killer is back. “
Scott then suggested the reason ‘The Bronze Bomber’ suffered against Parker is because of an insufficient camp.
“We make no excuses, but it was a very short camp for Parker and we’re going to right that wrong. He wants to knock Zhang out. I haven’t seen Deontay like this since the first Bermane Stiverne fight, his mindset is very, very violent.
“He’s got a contender hunger and the tiger in his eyes like he had early on in his career. We’re going to get violent with Zhang and keep banging until he goes.
“That wasn’t a physical loss to Joseph Parker, it was a mentality loss, his mentality this time is completely different. Violence was put on the shelf, but right now we’re pulling him back from him working so hard.
“He’s first in the gym, first at the track, he’s sleeping at the right time. The main difference this time is the mentality. He’s going to make a serious statement and in a violent manner. “
Should Wilder be on form when he faces Zhang, it could be an epic battle between two big punchers.
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