By Mark Eisner: Deontay Wilder closed the show with a DEVASTATING right hand on the button in crushing Luis Ortiz in the 7th round on Saturday night. The knockout for WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) ended Ortiz’s upset bid, as he was ahead on ALL three of the judges scorecards after six rounds. Wilder’s sudden knockout got the crowd on their feet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
They had him up 59-55, 59-55, 58-55. Boxing News 24 had Ortiz with a wide 59-55 lead. With Wilder, he’s someone that can away 11 rounds, and still snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. His right hand power is just UNREAL.
Wilder’s unbeaten record was at risk
Before using his right hand game-changer in the 7th, it looked like Wilder was on the verge of tasting defeat for the first time. His precious unbeaten record was about to come up in smoke, along with his dreams of surpassing Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0 record.
In the first three rounds, Wilder was being countered by Ortiz each time he tried to throw his right hand shots. This had an effect of making him afraid to throw anything, because Ortiz was making him pay with hard shots each time he would throw.
Wilder wasn’t throwing enough punches to win any of the first rounds of the fight. He might have been waiting for Ortiz to tire out, but it clear that wasn’t going to happen this time. Ortiz was in top shape, and he could have continued to control the fight for the full 12 rounds if Wilder hadn’t knocked him out after the 6th.
Ortiz left his guard down in 7th
In the 7th, things were looking bleak for Wilder, considering that he was getting hit with a lot straight lefts to the head by Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs). Going into the round, Wilder had thrown only a small handful of right hands that landed flush, but Ortiz was able to take them well. The knockout was made easier for Wilder due to Ortiz dropping his left hand, and that left him wide open for the Bronze Bomber’s right hand.
It became necessary for Wilder to throw more right hands, because Ortiz was trying to knock him out in that round. The Cuban had already nailed Wilder five hard lefts to the head, and he looked slightly hurt after one of the shots. Wilder then measured Ortiz with his left hand, and landed a straight right hand down the pipe that knocked him flat on his back against the ropes.
Referee did the right thing in stopping it
Ortiz looked hurt, but he was able to get up and stand on weak legs. Referee Kenny Bayless then looked Ortiz over, and waived it off. It was clear that Ortiz was too hurt for him to be allowed to go on. Ortiz didn’t look happy at the fight being stopped, but Bayless did him a HUGE favor. If he had let the action continue, Wilder would have polexed Ortiz in the condition he was in. The Cuban southpaw would have had no chance of protecting himself.
Ortiz was out-boxing Wilder, and making him look bad all night. In the 1st round, Wilder threw a right hand that badly missed. Ortiz countered him immediately with a straight left that snapped Wilder’s head back. Moments later, Wilder tried to land another right hand that missed, and Ortiz came back with a three-punch combination that landed.
In round 3, Wilder connected with his first big right hand of the bout, but Ortiz took it well. He was unhurt. Near the end of the round, Ortiz landed several straight lefts that connected cleanly.
Ortiz began to step up the pace in the 5th, as he was becoming more confident because of Wilder’s lack of offense. Things got worse for Wilder in the 6th round when Ortiz bounced repeated left hands off his head, and had the crowd eating out of his hand.
Wilder looked more engaged in 7th
At the end of the 6th, Wilder’s trainer seemed to give him a pep talk in letting him know that he needed to step it up. When Wilder came out for the 7th, he looked like a different person. He was trying to take Ortiz’s head off with right hands, and he landed several, but they weren’t at full strength. Ortiz came back strong in retaliating with lefts and rights.
Ortiz didn’t like getting hit by Wilder, and he went on the attack. That might have been the right thing for Ortiz to do though, because he left himself open for one of Wilder’s rights that dropped him. That was the end of story once Ortiz went down. He wasn’t going to be able to come back that vicious knockdown. No one could, not even Tyson Fury.
Wilder’s knockout victory is second straight stoppage win. Last May, he knocked out Dominic Breazeale in the 1st round.
The win for Wilder could pressure on Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. to try and duplicate his performance by scoring a knockout of their own in their fight on December 7 in Saudi Arabia.
