MALIK SCOTT has lifted the lid on his secret wedding to sports presenter Kate Abdo.
The retired boxer and coach of former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder tied the knot with the CBS Sports star in an intimate wedding earlier this month.
Scott, understandably, was emotional as he vowed to spend the rest of his life with the former Sky Sports presenter.
But Abdo moved the hardman to tears with an incredible homage to his first boxing gym on their wedding cake.
Recalling their big day in an interview with Genting Casinos, the 43-year-old said: “Kate did something incredibly creative, caring, and compassionate—reflecting the walk of life I come from.
“She took an old picture of my first ABC Gym in North Philadelphia, where I was raised—the gym that essentially saved my life.
“She copied the ring from that gym and turned it into a cake, with me in the ring wearing the boxing trunks I had on when I fought Tony Thompson.
“Those trunks had a design I borrowed from Sugar Ray Leonard when he fought Tommy Hearns the second time, but I added my own colours—pink and black with stripes.
“She even put herself next to me in a wedding dress.
“The thoughtfulness and creativity moved me to tears because it took me back to my childhood in that ring, where I faced many challenges, learned hard lessons and grew.
“That ring always meant the world to me.
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“She made sure to incorporate that into our wedding day, placing us both in the ring on the cake—her in a wedding dress, me in my boxing outfit.
“The contrast was beautiful, thoughtful, and loving.
“It was emotional for me because I had never shared my craft with anyone the way I have with her. It’s refreshing and comforting.
“In the past, I’d kept that side of me private, but with her, I’m comfortable letting her in—whether it’s film study or talking about boxing.
“It’s a special connection that I’ve never had with anyone else.”
Scott and Abdo, who went public with their relationship earlier this year, didn’t have an expensive and over-the-top celebration of their love.
And there was no room on the exclusive guestlist for Abdo’s on-air CBS colleagues Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards.
“Our wedding was intimate—just the two of us, really,” Scott revealed. “We didn’t want a big affair.
“We focused on each other and the commitment we were making.
“It was a godly ceremony on the Malibu hills, just how we wanted it.
“My kids were there, and it was important for them to see this meaningful, godly moment.
“Watching her walk down the aisle was so emotional for me. Every day I fall deeper in love with her.
“I don’t know if Jamie Carragher would have been invited to the wedding. I don’t know.
“I don’t know how to answer that because having a bigger wedding was never a possibility. That’s something that wouldn’t have happened.
“[But] Thierry, Michah, Jamie—they all sent their wishes.”
Carragher was unlikely to have received an invite to the nuptials after joking that Abdo wasn’t “loyal” to her new husband live on air.
Scott, however, bears no ill will towards the former Liverpool and England defender.
He said of Abdo’s colleagues: “They’re a good group of people.
“I may not know the full ins and outs of their status, but what impresses me most is the kind of men they are.
“The respect they carry, the pride they walk into a room with. They’re men’s men. And there’s nothing wrong with my relationship with Jamie.
“It was never broken. Jamie has a good understanding of how people are, especially in this social media era.
“We sat down, broke bread, and had good conversations. I’ve never had a problem with him.”
