Malik Scott Says Anthony Joshua “Let The Cat Out Of The Bag!”
Will the boxing world really see the guaranteed heavyweight explosion that is a fight between former heavyweight champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua later this year? Joshua, 25-3(22) was recently seen talking about the fight, with AJ seemingly confirming the fight will happen, this by saying he will “throw down” against Wilder. And we know the hugely rich money-men in Saudi Arabia want to play host to this one (as well as a fight between rival heavyweight champions Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, to take place, perhaps, on the same night).
Now, Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott has backed up Joshua’s comments, stating how AJ “let the cat out of the bag” in terms of confirming how the fight WILL happen. Scott added more intrigue, stating how, as December is so long away, Wilder, 43-2-1(42) is looking to take another fight in the meantime.
“Deontay’s on fire, everything is going to plan. AJ let the cat out of the bag, well, not just AJ, it’s no secret that him and Deontay will fight,” Scott said, as quoted by Boxing Social. “But it’s a long way from here ’til then (the month of December) and we’re trying to work on some other things until then, but yeah.”
But yeah, indeed.
This fight, one that would require some serious searching in order to find a single soul who thinks the fight has a prayer of going the distance, should have happened by now. We need this fight. The heavyweight division needs it. But there is, as Scott says, a long way to go until December; both in terms of time and, almost certainly, in terms of negotiations. Will the two sides be able to accept a deal both fighters are happy with?
Despite what Joshua and Scott have said, it’s way too early to get excited. We’ve been burned before. We could be burned again. But if – IF – this fight does happen, what happens, aside from that guaranteed explosion/KO? Who wins? It’s been said by many that ‘whoever lands first wins.’ Maybe. In fact, very probably. This one would/will be genuine don’t blink stuff. Scott is certain his guy walks away from Joshua’s prone body.
“I see AJ coming out a little cautious, I see AJ trying to jab, I see him coming out doing everything he’s supposed to do, then I also see AJ getting knocked out within three rounds, something like that,” Scott said. “I can tell you one thing, I might be wrong about the round but what I won’t be wrong about is him getting knocked out.”
Joshua, his critics have said, has been guilty of being gun-shy lately, afraid even; afraid to commit and of being hit. These people have said we will never again see the seek and destroy version of Joshua we all watched back in 2015, 2016, 2017. That AJ is not coming back, these people have said forcefully.
If this is true, and if Joshua is lacking in confidence, and if he comes out tentative, uncertain and, yes, gun-shy against Wilder, it could be disaster time for him. If, however, Joshua comes out for a shoot-out and has the confidence to let his own powerful hands go, it could be Wilder who ends up getting chinned.
Strangely for a fight that has 100 percent KO written all over it, there are a couple or three potential scenarios. Either Wilder blasts out an unsure, even scared Joshua in short order. Either Joshua comes out blazing and he tags an open and not that hard to hit Wilder and sends him to sleep. Or, thirdly, Joshua comes out and looks to hold, hold, hold, all night long in an effort at survival.
What we want to see is a good, old fashioned slugfest, where both guys throw everything with bad intentions, the two men testing each other’s chin and heart.
But as of right now, we’ll just settle for the fight actually happening.