Deontay Wilder on changing trainers for Tyson Fury trilogy fight: 'It's a move I should have made years ago'

It has been a while since Deontay Wilder has felt this comfortable.

The Tuscaloosa native has a revamped camp and approach entering his fight against WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury Saturday, Oct. 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Wilder, 35, has enlisted retired heavyweight boxer and friend Malik Scott to be his trainer and many more people he's known for an extended period of time to his camp. 

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This is the third fight between the two, the first a draw in 2019. Wilder fired former co-trainer Mark Breland after losing the heavyweight title to Fury in 2020 by technical knockout, the last fight for both Wilder and Fury.

"It’s really a family team right now and it’s something I should have had a long time ago," Wilder said on the Premier Boxing Champions Podcast. "You always try to give outsiders opportunities to come in. But at this point and time at my career I’ve got all my guys with me that love me deeply as I love them. That’s what it should be about. I think it’s been rejuvenating for me.

"It’s been a refreshment for me because I’ve got all my pure guys that’ll do whatever for me. They’ll take a bullet for me, and they’re right here on this team. So if anybody can push you hard, it’s going to be the ones that love you the most because they're the ones that want to see you do well and make it and succeed. That’s what I have right now, especially with bringing Malik on to the camp. It’s a move I should have made years ago."

Scott lost to Wilder in 2014 but has brought out parts of the game of the "Bronze Bomber" that no trainer has before, Wilder said. Wilder said hiring Scott is the best move of his career.

"My fans should know that I’m very happy. I’ve been in a great place for this past year or so that’s passed by. They should look for a new Deontay Wilder, a reinvented Deontay Wilder," he said.

The fight was originally set for July, but Fury, 32, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the month, reports said, and the fight was rescheduled. At a summer press conference, Wilder did not speak to Fury despite instigation from Fury.

"The key to victory for this fight is going to be being calm," Wilder said. "Having a violent mind but approaching it with calmness. My silence is golden, my silence is key to it all. That’s why I haven’t spoken to him once, even at the press conference. It’s nothing to say. It ain’t nothing to say. I want to show you."

Contact Jerell Rushin at 205-600-4015 or jrushin@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.