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Anthony Joshua, Dillian White “Vulnerable” Against Deontay Wilder – Claims Malik Scott

Published 08/22/2021, 4:16 PM EDT

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British heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will face his long-time rival Deontay Wilder for a trilogy fight on October 9. The two are set to fight at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. This third fight could change the course of the heavyweight division.

The winner of this bout could go on to face other top heavyweights like Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, and even Oleksandr Usyk.

Deontay Wilder’s trainer, Malik Scott, recently shared his thoughts on ‘The Bronze Bomber’ potentially fighting Dillian Whyte or Anthony Joshua. He pointed out that both have certain weaknesses that make them more “vulnerable” to getting knocked out by the Alabama native.

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Whyte in my opinion because he’s more deceiving. His height appears shorter than his actual height really is and his best and hardest punch really is his left jab/hook. His arms are longer than they appear and they hang down almost to his knees.

So when you think you’re out of range of his height, it’s tricky because you’re still in arm’s reach of him because of his long arm length. And his power comes from his bull-like strength, not from the correction of his punches.

Whyte is just dangerous for anyone, but what makes him vulnerable for Wilder is he’s very front-foot heavy. And I think being under 6ft 3ins going against any powerful puncher, especially Deontay, is a recipe for disaster.

With AJ it’s a little different because since his loss to Ruiz Jr he’s added more to his game with hand positioning, controlling his distance, etc. But he’s a bigger target to hit and by him being better fundamentally, that makes him more vulnerable stylistically to get clipped by Deontay,said Malik Scott.

Deontay Wilder is now shooting for gold

Most Deontay Wilder critics often associate him with just the Tyson Fury draw, a subsequent loss to the Englishman in 2020, and his ‘glove tampering’ and ‘muscle-relaxant spiking’ claims. However, it is important to take a deeper look into Wilder’s record and improvements in his game. This can help one realize how big of a threat he actually is to the current heavyweight division.

As a professional boxer, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has fought 44 times. Out of these, he has won 42 fights and even ended 41 of those by ruthless knockouts. The only deviations in his otherwise spotless record can be credited to ‘The Gypsy King’. His first professional defeat against Tyson Fury in 2020 led him to switch trainers. He has reportedly not stopped training for the trilogy ever since his loss last year.

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In the first two Tyson Fury fights, Deontay Wilder seemed almost stationary. He showed little movement, did not defend to the best of his ability and was not accurate with his striking. In both fights, the Englishman identified these loopholes and immediately capitalized on them. Fury avoided damage through his superior defense and world-class movement and footwork.

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However, recent training videos shared by Wilder’s team hint at significant developments in his overall approach and game plan.

In these videos, he is more active on his feet, shows better head movement, and even focuses on landing body shots.

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Fans of the sport have seen the likes of Anthony Joshua completely turn their approaches around in rematches. It seems fans could see a very different Deontay Wilder this time around. Such changes could make Deontay Wilder a big problem for the rest of the heavyweight division a well.

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Written by:

Sanjit Misra

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Sanjit Misra is a boxing author at EssentiallySports. Sanjit fused this passion for writing with his love for jabs, hooks, weaves, and uppercuts and entered the realm of boxing journalism. The elegance, the science, the techniques, and the finesse of hand-to-hand combat was what initially drew him into the world of boxing.
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