Malik Scott Wants Deontay Wilder To Consider Alternatives For Andy Ruiz Jr.

Deontay Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott believes his client shouldn’t go for Andy Ruiz Jr. as his next opponent. Instead, the 42-year-old prefers Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) over the American boxer.

Scott says he doesn’t have any bad terms with Ruiz, but he wants the best fights for Wilder and feels that Ruiz doesn’t make the ceiling.

Apart from these two superstars, the former professional boxer also rates Olympic silver medal winner Joe Joyce as a very dangerous customer. Unfortunately for Scott, he won’t get his wish as both Usyk and Joshua are heading in different directions.

The 33-year-old Joshua may fight Chris Arreola next, whereas Usyk would be waiting until 2023 to fight Tyson Fury. Although the Ukrainian boxer was interested in fighting Wilder initially, he may have lost it after he saw the 36-year-old thrash Robert Helenius in a first-round knockout.

“I’m not that big on him and Andy Ruiz fighting. We’ve got three years left in this game, and I want Deontay in the highest-level fights,” said Malik.

“He’d get a bit excited about Ruiz but not like an Usyk or AJ. Those are the only two fights I want for Deontay. I’m not interested in anything else.

“Joe Joyce is a much better fighter for us concerning entertaining fights than Andy Ruiz.

“Ruiz would be more marketable because he’s a former heavyweight champion but Joyce is a much tougher opponent than Andy Ruiz is. Joyce would beat Ruiz easily,”

Just like Usyk, Joyce also had expressed interest in fighting Wilder and was willing to travel to Las Vegas. Recently, the 37-year-old secured the biggest win of his career after defeating Joseph Parker.

As for now, the match between Ruiz Jr. and Wilder is happening, with the winner getting a shot at the WBC title.