“It would be a true tragedy if we get the Riddick Bowe-Lennox Lewis effect with Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.”
The above words were said today by Malik Scott, the trainer of Deontay Wilder. Speaking with Sky Sports News, Scott said that in his strong opinion, the Wilder Vs. Joshua fight – “locked in for January” – should go ahead regardless of the outcome of tomorrow night’s fight between AJ and late sub (for Dillian Whyte) Robert Helenius.
It would indeed be a great shame if AJ-Wilder, about as guaranteed and nailed-on a heavyweight explosion as could be imagined, didn’t happen. And Scott says the world should get to see it regardless of Joshua’s performance against Helenius.
“I think they both should be in the ring with each other regardless,” Scott said moments ago. “Performance-wise, win or lose, to me Deontay Wilder and AJ should be in a boxing ring together. It should happen. It would be a true tragedy if we get the Riddick Bowe-Lennox Lewis effect with Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua. Them two deserve to be in a ring together. The January thing (the supposed date for the Wilder-AJ fight, to go ahead in the Middle East) is locked in, as locked in as it’s going to be.”
As much as we agree with Scott – we ALL want to see AJ and Wilder rumble – plenty of people will tell you that it very possibly will not not happen if Joshua suffers a cataclysmic defeat at the hands of Helenius tomorrow. How could Joshua, if he were to suffer such a fate, possibly have the self-confidence needed to then go in with Wilder, one of the most lethal punchers of recent times (some say of all-time)?
No, Joshua needs a win tomorrow, and he really needs a big and impressive win. A loss would, to repeat, be cataclysmic. A sub-par performance, say a points win or a dull, late rounds corner retirement win, would possibly not be enough for Joshua, either.
Yes, we all want to see Wilder and Joshua meet in ring centre and get down to the business of throwing bombs. But all bets will be off if “The Nordic Nightmare” shocks Joshua in London. Very possibly, anyway.
Meanwhile, Scott told Sky News that he still aims to have Wilder box a tune-up fight before the January date with AJ, this some time in October.
Can YOU picture Wilder and Joshua in the same ring in January? And if so, who on earth wins?
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