Malik Scott is the worst trainer of the modern era

I like listening to Scott when he’s interviewed, except when he’s talking up his own charge in Wilder, he’s generally very accurate with his analysis and predictions. I think he’s been working with stubborn and damaged goods most of the time.

 

And he had just been trashing his previous trainer and accusing him of spiking his water, no other trainer would have touched him after that

 

That’s what Scott would be if he wasn’t Wilder’s best mate and fellow Mr Dodgy. But not really, Scott doesn’t have the desire to be an actual grassroots coach; just loves the celebrity around training a top guy.

 

Wilder was crap before Malik Scott but he masked it because he was younger and the opponents were below C level

Now the opponents are better and Father Time has caught upto Wilder. There's nowhere else to go

Malik Scott can't work miracles

What Wilder needs to do is summon those African voodoo demons he used to worship and get them to paralyse one of his opponents long enough to get a free shot in

 

Let's be fair, Ortiz was a solid B-

This is pretty much it, though - Scott inherited a fighter who's nonsensical hypetrain had been derailed... And who then decided to fight guys who were way better than anyone he'd beaten before.

It doesn't really matter who was training Wilder - he wasn't winning Fury 3, he wasn't winning against Parker and he probably wasn't even beating Zhang (who isn't really as proven at top level as a lot are hyping him to be).


Scott's a joke as a fighter, but Wilder's a mirage - it's not fair to judge Scott's coaching based on the bronze fraud.

 

Wilder is an idiot incapable of learning or adapting in his career. He'd likely have the same results with a different trainer. Scott for his part is more intelligent than he's given for. He plays into Wilders delusions and in the process has secured himself some solid paydays after his mediocre boxing career ran it's course. I think he's just making the most of the situation. Win/win for him either way.

 

Scott is terrible but there was no trainer that was going to save Wilder at that point in his career.

 

awful example since both had their flaws fixed by the same trainer, emmanuel steward

 

Liking for the Zhang comment. You already know I think you’re too hard on ol Deonkey.

 

Zhang is literally (and I really do mean "literally") 3-2-1 against top-200 ranked fighters... I mean sure, dude hits ****ing hard, but being that inconsistent and having such an awful gas tank that it's almost impossible for him to win on the cards (because he'll be too gassed to score much for the second half of the fight, if not more) means he shouldn't really be getting rated quite as high as he is.

Still, the divisions pretty awful so it's not like there's too many better options (besides equally overhyped and underproven guys).


And I'm not too hard on Wilder
He was only ever a fringe contender who'd have a punchers chance, at absolute best. Super protected, won his belt from one of the worst champs in recent memory, and needed referees help to prevent him losing it to an ancient Cuban gatekeeper on heart meds... He was hot garbage sold to a slightly too proud country desperate to believe it deserved a real heavyweight champ - but even if it did, he wasn't it.

 

Not saying Scott is a good trainer at all, he's surely a better friend lol, but think the 2nd Fury fight ruined Deontay. Whatever damage he took in that fight he's never been even close to the same since.

 

Malik Scott strikes me as a very intelligent, unscrupulous, opportunistic man. I think he knew precisely what he was getting into when he took on Wilder as his charge, and why he's still bigging up his chances when any sane coach would be telling him to hang up the gloves. Honestly though, Scott or not, Wilder would probably be too stubborn to quit fighting anyway, so I can't fault Scott's profiting off him while he can still land some potential big money fights.

I have no idea what he's like as a trainer, but technically he definitely knows what he's doing. That's different from being able to (or willing to) communicate it though.