Gary Wilder, father of former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, has offered his advice to the boxer after his knockout loss to Zhihei Zhang in November 2023. According to Gary, Deontay needs a trainer he will respect rather than a friend.
Malik Scott, who took over as Deontay’s trainer in 2021, may be replaced by someone else based on Gary’s advice. Despite Deontay’s statement that he may consider retirement after the loss to Zhang, Gary believes his son still has good years left in him as a boxer.
Gary Wilder had seen less of his son since Scott replaced Mark Breland as the trainer but was present at Deontay’s fight against Tyson Fury in 2021 and visited training camp before the fight with Joseph Parker in December 2023. In response to Gary’s comments, Malik Scott initially declined to make any further remarks but later expressed frustration with Scott’s attempt to mold Deontay into a traditional boxer.
Gary believes that as long as Deontay tries to be a boxer, he will continue to struggle and not win fights. While Shelly Finkel, Deontay’s co-manager, had no comment on Gary’s advice, Gary insists that he is not involved in Deontay’s boxing career.
