DEONTAY WILDER revealed he hired Malik Scott for his ‘genius’ – despite knocking him out in 2014.
Scott, also a former sparring partner of the Bronze Bomber’s, will act as the ex-WBC champion’s head coach heading into his trilogy with Tyson Fury.
Wilder told Premier Boxing Champions: “Malik is my true brother. Even before me and Malik fought, we were very close.
“Throughout our careers we have always talked. I always wanted to bring him in because of his genius and his mindset as a fighter.
“He’s a genius in his mind, he knows what to do, but he just didn’t have the athletic body to be able to perform what’s in his head.
“I am the athlete – with instructions and teachings I am able to perform what he thinks and what he strategies.”
Wilder, 35, was beaten by Fury, 32, in February 2020, when his then-assistant coach Mark Breland threw in the towel after seven one-sided rounds.
It unfairly cost Breland his role in the corner, with Scott now leading the charge having already devised a new game plan for their shot at revenge.
He said: “After the loss against Fury, by 3am or 4am, it was somewhere around there.
“We was already in motion and putting the play together on what was going on now.
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“He immediately was already planning, ‘Like bro, you’re my head guy now.’
“We knew this from day one that adjustments had to be made and certain things that we wanted to do just have to be put in place.
“It works perfectly, because I believe one of the most imperative things between fighter and training is just not the teaching and learning, the chemistry.
“In this case, with my mentality and my experience, and my boxing brain, mixed with our chemistry, mixed with everything he’s receptive to and learning now – it’s going to be a bad, bad night for Fury come this trilogy.”
Fury initially walked away from his contracted trilogy bout with Wilder to instead hold talks for an undisputed title decider with Anthony Joshua, 31.
His team argued the immediate rematch stipulation expired and allowed him to move on as Wilder took his case to arbitration.
Fury and AJ then agreed a unification on August 14 in Saudi Arabia, until the civil mediator ruled in favour of Wilder.
The American is now set to face the Gypsy King once more, after they signed to fight on July 24.
Wilder and Scott are already training again and have showed off their tactical switch, working on head movement, body shots and combinations.
The pair have been life long friends, and only had a few months away from each other in 2014, when Wilder beat his friend in the first round.
Scott said: “The fight opportunity came up, for that whole three months of preparation, we didn’t talk, nothing like that, and we all know what the result was.
“That didn’t deteriorate our relationship, because business is business. Someone has to lose and someone has to win.”
Scott has been a fixture in Wilder’s team before, either as advisor or sparring partner, but is now the main man in the corner.
Wilder said: “I always wanted to bring him into the team but the position was always occupied and I’m a loyal person.
“Sometimes people dismiss themselves. When you are left with no choice but to get rid of those people.
“Now things are open, it was a no-brainer. Right after [the Fury fight] we started coming up with strategies and plans.
“It wasn’t a hard decision. He has been in all my camps but never wanted to step on anyone’s toes.
“Now he has filled that spot, he is in a different position. I’ve got a great team established.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
