Former pro heavyweight Malik Scott has transitioned from fighter to trainer, and he will be working the corner of reigning WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (pictured, 46-1, 30 KOs) for his November 16th unification fight vs. WBO counterpart Chris “The Gentleman” Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 44 year-old Scott, who will assist Ramirez’ head trainer Julian Chua, passionately believes that not only will Ramirez defeat Smith, but also that Zurdo is the #1 cruiserweight in the world. Scott was Ramirez’ head trainer when Chua was unavailable for Ramirez’ debut as a cruiserweight (October 7, 2023), in which he defeated former light heavyweight titleholder Joe Smith, Jr. (28-4) by way of ten-round unanimous decision, winning all but one round on all three of the judges’ scorecards. Scott and Chua are “in house” trainers at the state-of-the-art Brickhouse Boxing Club in North Hollywood, California.
“Julian is one of the brightest trainers in boxing,” Scott said. “I enjoy learning from him. I had Zurdo for his fight with Joe Smith and he had a good performance. I really enjoy working with him. No disrespect to Smith-Billam, but this fight is a mismatch. Zurdo is a big, strong southpaw who has fought a higher level of opponents than Smith-Billam. Zurdo is a good body puncher who throws punches from incredible angles, and he has an incredible boxing mind. Smith-Billam is big, strong and he keeps coming forward, but he is a one-trick pony. He does have a good trainer (Shane McGuigan), but I think Zurdo takes over in the second half of the fight. And Zurdo has a Dream Team in his corner. I think he will become the undisputed world champion and only Jay Opetaia can give him a fight.”
A product of the fighting city of Philadelphia, Scott was a decorated U.S. amateur boxer (70-3), highlighted by his gold-medal performance at the 1999 National AAU Championships. He went on to have a solid 15-year professional career, which ended in 2016 with a 38-3-1 (13 KOs) record.
Scott has always studied the sport of boxing and gives it his all every day. There’s no idol worshipping for him, and he takes pride in teaching young boxers. “A great trainer teaches boxers the why’s and how’s,” Scott explained. “A good trainer just gives instructions. I believe in teaching for a good reason. I study fighters, their styles, and habits, and I go as far as studying the opponent’s corner to learn how they work during a fight. I think everybody working corners should be mic-ed up. I’m confident and want people to hear my advice.”
Scott learned from Fred Jenkins back in Philadelphia and he has studied other trainers such as Barry Robinson, Joe Goossen, and Emanuel Steward, among others. Scott was head trainer for Deontay Wilder for his third fight with Tyson Fury [plus Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, all losses]. In addition to assisting Chua with Zurdo, they also team, respectively, as head and assistant trainers of world super flyweight title challenger John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs). They aren’t related but Zurdo is like a big brother and role model for Scrappy. “’Scrappy’ is going to be world champion,” Scott predicted. “His day is coming!”
