Deontay Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott has spoken out following rumours that his fighter will return to the ring on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s clash with Francis Ngannou, less than three months on from his surprise defeat to Joseph Parker.
Wilder faced Parker last month, but was unable to land his cataclysmic right-hand and seemingly had no plan B as he suffered a wide unanimous decision loss.
As a result, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ lost the opportunity to face Joshua this year and now appears to be in need of a big win if he is to re-establish himself as a contender to the heavyweight throne.
Since the defeat, Wilder has been linked to a clash against fellow power-puncher Zhilei Zhang, who twice cracked the formidable chin of Joe Joyce during 2023, becoming the WBO mandatory challenger and rising up the heavyweight rankings.
In an interview with ES News, Scott confirmed the truth of reports that Wilder is likely to appear on the card, as well as indicating that rumours of a contest with Zhang or a potential rematch with Parker are also true.
“Yeah [probably on the Joshua-Ngannou card]. It is no secret who the names is that we have been matched and mentioned with, but we will see. Nothing is signed and sealed and the most important thing is that he just gets active, he has got to get active.”
Many believe that defeat for Wilder could leave him in no-man’s-land, and may even possibly encourage him to retire from the sport.
Similarly a loss for Zhang would not only end his tremendous run of late but could also represent the end of his world title hopes, regardless of the forty-year-old’s newfound form, in what is undoubtedly a high-risk encounter for both.
Joshua-Ngannou takes place on Friday March 8th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with undercard announcements set to be confirmed in due course.