The landscape of the Heavyweight division includes distinguished contenders such as Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz, Anthony Joshua, and many others. Not to mention, both the current champions; Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are planning to have a unification bout come to fruition. However, the real battle has been going on outside the ring, between the camps over contractual negotiations.

Although the dates were tentative, it was certain Wilder would compete against Joshua in his next bout. Both camps explicitly mentioned that the fight would take place later this year. However, in a recent turn of events, Wilder’s trainers have dropped the bomb by revealing Wilder’s next opponent and leaving everyone confused.

Deontay Wilder’s trainer reveals an unexpected name for Wilder’s next fight

Malik Scott is the head trainer of Wilder. Intriguingly, Scott is a former boxer himself and had fought Wilder back in 2014. In the bout, Scott was defeated via a stoppage in the very first round. However, Wilder brought him on board as a trainer prior to his trilogy against Fury. In a recent interview with ESNews, Scott was asked about Wilder’s next opponent.

Read more: “Why Is Anyone Shocked”: Fans Left Disappointed as Anthony Joshua Makes “Awful” Declaration

Wilder was rumored to face Joshua in December and Wilder himself was vocal about the same and predicted a stoppage. Surprisingly, his trainer, Scott did not take the name of Joshua when asked about Wilder’s next fight. Instead, he expressed interest in a fight with Ruiz. In the interview, he stated, “Deontay is in the position where so many big fights are lined up that anything or any opponent can possibly change. Andy Ruiz is definitely one of the main options right now and we’ll see where it lands at.”

Ruiz is the former Heavyweight champion and has a win over Joshua. Needless to say, Ruiz would be a formidable opponent for Wilder but also an unexpected one as Wilder was speculated to face Joshua next. However, Scott did not completely shut down the potential fight with Joshua but expressed his interest through an interesting catch.

Malik Scott on Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua

Malik Scott has not completely ignored Joshua as a potential opponent. In the same interview, Scott mentioned Joshua in a list with other potential opponents. However, he did not mention Joshua with the same inclinations as he did for Ruiz. He stated, “We’ll see what happens, we’ve still got Anthony Joshua on the menu Ruiz, Joshua, Usyk, and they all will get the same treatment. Big fights and exciting times.” It can be inferred that no fight has been booked for Wilder as of yet but his trainer is open to many formidable opponents in the Heavyweight division including Joshua.

It safe say that Joshua remains a potential opponent but not necessarily the next one. How do you perceive the comments made by Scott? In an ideal world, who would you like to see Wilder face next? Do share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.