Fighter-turned-trainer Malik Scott has shared his verdict on the outcome of a fantasy clash between Muhammad Ali and Deontay Wilder.
Ali, who went by his moniker ‘The Greatest’, is regarded by many as being the best fighter in boxing history. The three-time world heavyweight champion took the sport by storm during his tenure, sharing the ring with the likes of Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and George Foreman.
As for Wilder, the Alabama-native reigned as the WBC heavyweight champion for five years between 2015 and 2020 and has proved to be one of, if not the hardest-hitting fighter of all time, amassing 43 knockout victories throughout the course of his career.
One man who realised first hand just how hard Wilder hits is Scott, who was knocked out in 96 seconds by ‘The Bronze Bomber’ back in 2014, before the duo then teamed up and began working together.
Speaking to Canada Casino, Scott sensationally backed a prime version of Wilder to defeat Ali in an intriguing fantasy match-up.
“Peak Muhammad Ali would be what, Ernie Terrell? I’ll go with Peak Wilder. I’ve seen peak Wilder fight guys that can actually box. They maybe didn’t box the way Ali did, but I’ve seen them try to disengage, lateral movement, and I’ve seen Wilder look fantastic against that style of fighter.
“I’ve never seen Ali face no one striking with concussive power like Deontay. He fought heavy-handed guys and big punchers, but Ali’s advantage against those guys was he was able to see them coming. I never saw Ali in there with nobody where he had to worry about not seeing the shots coming because that would be the shots that hurt you. I’ll go with prime Wilder.”
‘The Bronze Bomber’ made his return to the ring back in June after suffering back-to-back defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. The 39-year-old from Tuscaloosa stopped countryman Tyrrell Herndon in the seventh round of their non-title bout at the Charles Koch Arena in Kansas on June 27, his first victory since October of 2022.
