WATCH: Deontay Wilder smashes the pads while awaiting return

Ahead of Deontay Wilder's next fight, the former champion is getting to work.

'The Bronze Bomber' is currently awaiting his next assignment. The former champion has been out of the ring since last fall when he scored a knockout win over Robert Helenius. That victory snapped a two-fight losing streak, both of which were losses to Tyson Fury.

Following the win, the former champion was ordered to face Andy Ruiz Jr. The idea was that the winner of the contest would face 'The Gypsy King' for WBC gold. However, that fight has been abandoned in favor of a December return against Anthony Joshua.

The card will be held in Saudi Arabia, and promoted by Skills Based Challenge. The company is also working on holding Fury's title unification against Oleksandr Usyk on the same night. Granted, that deal is far from done, but 'The Cat' did sign with the promotion earlier this week.

In the meantime, it seems that Deontay Wilder is trying to stay ready. His coach Malik Scott recently took to social media to show the former heavyweight champion hitting the pads. Although he hasn't fought in a while, it's clear that Wilder hasn't lost any of his trademark power.

See Wilder hitting pads alongside Malik Scott below:

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Deontay Wilder next fight: Malik Scott provides update

Malik Scott has revealed that time is ticking on a tune-up fight for Deontay Wilder.

While 'The Bronze Bomber' is linked to a December clash against Anthony Joshua, there's still a lot of time before then. For his part, 'AJ' is reportedly looking for a rematch with Dillian Whyte slated for this summer.

Furthermore, Oleksandr Usyk is slated to face Daniel Dubois, with Tyson Fury also aiming to have a tune-up fight before December. In a recent interview with BetWay, Wilder's coach Malik Scott gave his thoughts on a potential Summer holdover fight.

The coach admitted that he was hopeful that Deontay Wilder would have a tune-up before the end of the year. However, a lot of it depends on who he will face, and how much money he will earn. Scott explained:

"There’s no telling if Deontay will fight between now and December. Absolutely I would like to fight between now and December. That's no secret at all. Andy Ruiz is right there in the mix. Anything can happen... For Deontay not to fight between now and December, the compensation that Deontay would need to receive would have to be extremely high because once again he's a businessman, he doesn't sit around and wait."