Malik Scott.....

[4Corners]

Why he took that long layoff??

He had a biceps injury that kept him out of the ring for 3 years. Now he's training with Jesse Reid, and he looked pretty good. He's still only 31 and a fresh 31. Hopefully he stays really active and ups his opposition, because he can make some noise. If it hadn't been for the injury, I think more would have heard about him by now.

[Hitman932]

He's sort of a throwback to 80s American heavies.

I can see that. He reminds me a little bit of Michael Dokes, though with less power obviously.

[Lorily]

I started a thread about Malik after his fight the other night. I was so disgusted after the Cloud/Campillo fight, and no response to a relatively unknown, that in my pissed off state took the post out.

Anyway, I was impressed... especially for the current HW state. My question was, can a very skilled HW who lacks heavy power make it against the elite heavy hitters out there. He's not "pillow fisted" by any means, and has enough in my estimation to keep his opponents honest. Unfortunately it could make for some very long nights for Malik... but he's got skills for a HW no doubt. I think he was throwing in the range of 80-90 punches per round AND he's got some slick moves IMO. Dude is a work horse for sure. I was impressed, I just don't know if he can improve his power at this age and stage in his career - enough to hang with the top tier HW's.

[4Corners]

I started a thread about Malik after his fight the other night. I was so disgusted after the Cloud/Campillo fight, and no response to a relatively unknown, that in my pissed off state took the post out.

Anyway, I was impressed... especially for the current HW state. My question was, can a very skilled HW who lacks heavy power make it against the elite heavy hitters out there. He's not "pillow fisted" by any means, and has enough in my estimation to keep his opponents honest. Unfortunately it could make for some very long nights for Malik... but he's got skills for a HW no doubt. I think he was throwing in the range of 80-90 punches per round AND he's got some slick moves IMO. Dude is a work horse for sure. I was impressed, I just don't know if he can improve his power at this age and stage in his career - enough to hang with the top tier HW's.

Agreed. I hope Malik stays active and ups his competition this year. I was high on him in 07-08, but of course he was injured and that stopped his career for 3 years. He still looked quick and slick, though not as much as before, but still quick enough to be a problem for top HW's. I don't know if his lack of power will be his downfall, we shall see. He's definitely a good HW, and he's far better than Seth Mitchell and Deontay Wilder, his American counterparts.

[BKM-2010]

I know him from the Mike Tyson Xbox video game like 7 or 8 years ago.

[4Corners]

I know him from the Mike Tyson Xbox video game like 7 or 8 years ago.

Go to the link on the first page and watch his fight last saturday on the Williams-Ishida undercard. I know he was only fighting Releford, who's not good, but you can see that he is slick enough, quick enough, and has enough durability, to pose a threat to the Top 10 HW's. He's better than Seth Mitchell and Tyson Fury, who some people are high on for some reason. I think he's also better than Mike Perez and Deontay Wilder.

[Lorily]

Agreed. I hope Malik stays active and ups his competition this year. I was high on him in 07-08, but of course he was injured and that stopped his career for 3 years. He still looked quick and slick, though not as much as before, but still quick enough to be a problem for top HW's. I don't know if his lack of power will be his downfall, we shall see. He's definitely a good HW, and he's far better than Seth Mitchell and Deontay Wilder, his American counterparts.

I was super impressed with his work rate and ability to slip punches. You just don't see that with HW's anymore. I used to be really into the HW's when I first started watching boxing about 12yrs ago, there was a whole different level of Heavyweight fighters back then (to some aspect). It seems like this era is all about just trying to hit the opponent with a huge punch, with no skills or stamina whatsoever. Granted, I haven't been following them like I used to, because I got sick of the lack of action... which is possibly why I found Malik Scott to be a breath of fresh air. As I said, my only concern for him really is the lack of knock out power, against the bigger and better comp. I think he probably has what it takes to still beat a lot of them... however Malik is the type of fighter that wins rounds and not by KO, which will make for some VERY long nights for him. At his age (which really isn't old for the HW division), can he improve his power? He doesn't seem to put his whole body in to his punches, rather throwing forceful arm punches. I really think he could be trained to put his whole body in to his power punches and learn to move back and come in using his body, rather than throwing his power punches from a standing position.

[4Corners]

I was super impressed with his work rate and ability to slip punches. You just don't see that with HW's anymore. I used to be really into the HW's when I first started watching boxing about 12yrs ago, there was a whole different level of Heavyweight fighters back then (to some aspect). It seems like this era is all about just trying to hit the opponent with a huge punch, with no skills or stamina whatsoever. Granted, I haven't been following them like I used to, because I got sick of the lack of action... which is possibly why I found Malik Scott to be a breath of fresh air. As I said, my only concern for him really is the lack of knock out power, against the bigger and better comp. I think he probably has what it takes to still beat a lot of them... however Malik is the type of fighter that wins rounds and not by KO, which will make for some VERY long nights for him. At his age (which really isn't old for the HW division), can he improve his power? He doesn't seem to put his whole body in to his punches, rather throwing forceful arm punches. I really think he could be trained to put his whole body in to his power punches and learn to move back and come in using his body, rather than throwing his power punches from a standing position.

And that's one of the major critiques on the 00's HW era, the lack of very skilled and slick fighters. I go back and forth with Klitschko fans all the time who say the HW's they've fought are really good, and they just aren't. If we took Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, and Earnie Shavers in their primes and threw them into the 00's with Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, Eddie Chambers, Shannon Briggs, Corrie Sanders, Cris Arreola, Tomasz Adamek, David Haye, Odlanier Solis, as well as the Klitschkos........they would be FAR AND AWAY be the toughest fights for the Klitschkos.