Deontay Wilder v Anthony Joshua 'just as big as before', trainer 'ashamed' of Joseph Parker defeat

Malik Scott has admitted he was "ashamed" of the performance Deontay Wilder put in against Joseph Parker in his most recent outing, as the trainer prepares for the destructive heavyweight's return to action.

Wilder stunned the boxing world by penning a deal with Matchroom, led by Eddie Hearn, ahead of a historic 5-versus-5 event taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Frank Warren's Queensberry have selected a five-man roster to take on their foes, with Zhilei Zhang topping the bill against Wilder. The five matchups will comprise the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight title showdown between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

The American knockout-artist lost his first Middle Eastern fight back in December, when he lumbered to a comprehensive points defeat to Parker on a similarly-stacked card - one which had been designed to set up a megafight with Anthony Joshua, who did the business against Otto Wallin in the main event.

While Joshua was seemingly a fighter reborn under new trainer Ben Davison, Wilder looked a man over the hill, unable to unleash the sensational power which rocked boxing's glamour division for so long.

Reflecting on the Alabaman's defeat - a third in the last four - Scott told Seconds Out: "Joseph Parker and Andy Lee had an incredible, methodical game plan. They did just enough to win the rounds, they did just enough to take a chance.

"At the same time, Deontay was having the worst night of his career. Deontay was unable to pull the trigger and I’ve seen it happen to the best. But I believe [Wilder] being ashamed of that performance – and I say this for me too, that’s a performance I’m ashamed of.

"If he goes into June 1 as the Deontay Wilder that I’m always bragging about to you guys, you’re going to see Zhang fall and it's going to be a beautiful thing. Wilder is very artistic and violent. Zhang is a pop tart when he gets fatigued. [Zhang] falls apart and he gets really scared.

"He almost would do anything not to get tired. He doesn't like getting into a vulnerable position when he's tired. Our job is to take him into darkness. Our job is to see how he reacts to that. When the going gets tough, I believe Deontay is a much tougher man."

Zhang himself also lost to former WBO champion Parker in his last fight, having dazzled with a pair of KO victories over Joe Joyce prior to that. If Wilder can get past the Chinese behemoth, all eyes will again turn to a long-awaited showdown with Joshua.

Scott - who was once an opponent of Wilder, before eventually becoming his trainer - continued: "Absolutely [it's still realistic]. If he does Zhang, I believe that fight is just as big as it was before.

"But the job has got to get done on June 1. It's hard for me to think about an Anthony Joshua fight when we're coming off a loss and fighting another very dangerous heavyweight like Zhang."

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