Wilder Stops Ortiz In Heavyweight Hoot

For about four rounds, tonight’s Heavyweight title fight between WBC Heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, and undefeated Luis Ortiz was absolute garbage. Wilder, in a fashion reminiscent of his fight with Gerald Washington, appeared content to simply stay out of harm’s way as the Cuban veteran fell short with jabs and power shots.

Then Wilder turned his legs to jelly with a brutal right hand and things got wild.

Wilder (40-0, 39 KO) sent Ortiz (28-1, 24 KO) to his knees with one of the only punches he had landed so far narrowing what was becoming an insurmountable gap on the scorecards. Invigorated, he looked to press the advantage, only to get buckled by a savage right cross. Ortiz — notorious for his murderous power — unloaded a barrage impressive enough to earn him a 10-8 round on Showtime’s unofficial scorecard despite no knockdown.

A couple more competitive rounds later, the two caught each other with right hands at the same time. Ortiz got the worst of it, prompting the classic Wilder windmill flurry. Ortiz went to his knees once again, and though he beat the count, Wilder was waiting with an uppercut that sealed the deal.

Going into this fight, Wilder had questions about his durability and ability to deal with adversity. He answered them with aplomb. Ideally, he’ll fight the winner of Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker later this year with the unified Heavyweight title on the line.

Meanwhile, in the co-feature, Jose Uzcategui avenged his disqualification loss to Andre Dirrell with a fairly one-sided thumping. After eight rounds, Dirrell visibly didn’t want any more, prompting his corner to call the fight.

For quick results and round-by-round coverage of “Wilder vs. Ortiz” click here.