Deontay Wilder has been with his coach since his first loss to Tyson Fury, but the pair actually encountered one another years before, in the ring.
Deontay Wilder is known for his excuses after losing to Tyson Fury in their second encounter, and even fired his coach, Mark Breland, whom he accused of spiking his water, impeding his performance.
Breland threw in the towel, giving Wilder his first ever loss, and ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was soon on the lookout for a new coach.
Wilder appointed former opponent Malik Scott as his head coach, a relationship that has yielded some undesirable results.
Deontay Wilder knocked out Malik Scott before appointing him as his unsuccessful trainer
In 2014, before Wilder fought his first credible opponent, Bermane Stiverne, he knocked out 36-1-1 Malik Scott in Puerto Rico in the very first round.
Scott, whose previous loss had come by knockout to Derek Chisora, went on to fight three more times before hanging up the gloves. He retired after a loss to one of Wilder’s toughest foes, Luis Ortiz.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wilder, who had a 32-fight KO streak, said he appointed Scott as his trainer for his IQ and mindset:
“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.”
Scott’s ‘genius’ has yet to pay off, though, as Wilder has lost all but one fight since teaming up with his former foe. The pair have had four fights together, with Wilder winning just one against Robert Helenius.
Malik Scott was attacked by trainer after remarks over his cruiserweight champion
Malik Scott is also one of the head trainers for Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, who recently defeated Chris Billam-Smith in their world title contest.
Scott had criticized Billam-Smith’s prior outing against Lawrence Okolie, to which Smith’s trainer, Shane McGuigan, responded brutally:
“After the abysmal stuff that he’s done with Deontay Wilder, I don’t know how he’s still got a job.”
McGuigan’s criticism of Scott concluded with: “I just can’t believe Deontay Wilder even employed him after knocking him out in about 30 seconds.”