Deontay Wilder's coach Malik Scott insists the former world champion’s next opponent must pose a “threat” to stimulate the American heavyweight ahead of a highly-anticipated comeback fight.
The Bronze Bomber suffered a devastating defeat to Tyson Fury last month in his first fight since joining up with Scott.
The partnership produced an impressive version of Wilder, dropping Fury twice before eventually succumbing to the Briton, who ended the contest in the 11th round via knockout after delivering four knockdowns of his own.
Wilder suffered a broken hand in the Las Vegas brawl, but ahead of his comeback next year Scott expects Wilder to meet a lesser opponent to secure what would represent a first win since stopping Luis Ortiz in November 2019.
“With Deontay, obviously, the first fight back is not going to be at the level that he just left," Scott told World Boxing News. “We have to do things the right way.
“At the same time, we can’t go much lower than that [Fury] because he’s a high entertainment revenue fighter. He’s big-time boxing.
“We have to give him a threat because Deontay gets up for threats. “Obviously, it won’t be a Fury level, but it won’t be somebody down in the bucket.
“We’re not going to get somebody with a record of 27-11. That’s not happening. It has to be a name that fans have heard of.”
