Deontay Wilder won his heavyweight bout against Luis Ortiz on Saturday night in a very Deontay Wilder-y way.
Ortiz won the first six rounds handily, dominating the fight, and then when things slowed down a bit in the seventh, Wilder unleashed a right hand that knocked Ortiz out cleanly. One punch was all it took.
You can see the knockout and the reaction to it here.
For people who aren’t huge fans of Wilder, this fight only reinforces the standard knock against him, that he’s not a complete fighter, or even much of a fighter at all. He’s got no skill, just the ability to punch really hard.
I’d counter that argument by saying that punching really hard is a skill, and Wilder has so much power that he can afford to be patient, let a boxer like Ortiz take the early rounds, and then wait for his moment. That’s exactly what he did on Saturday, and it worked.
If Wilder didn’t have the power that he had, sure he might need to develop more of an overall technique and style. But he does. He’s got that Foreman-type power that doesn’t come around very often.
When you’ve got that power, you don’t need to become a complete fighter. You just need to become the fighter that you need to be to win.
For Wilder, that at times can be a cagey, laborious style that slows things down in the early rounds. He takes his licks, lets the other guy score. He knows they’ll tire eventually. Especially against a solid fighter like Ortiz, Wilder doesn’t need to open himself up too much too early.
On Saturday night, Wilder let Ortiz get his punches in. He protected himself early, then waited for things to slow down. And that’s the thing with Wilder, things only need to slow down a little bit. Ortiz just has to make one mistake, which is what he did in the seventh. He made one mistake, and Wilder won.
It’s like Wilder says often, which is one of my favorite quotes: “My opponent has to be perfect for 12 rounds, I only have to be perfect for one second.”
You can crack Wilder for not having any skill, but to me, Saturday represented his skill and confidence on full display. To basically toss out six and a half rounds because all you need is one punch? That’s confidence, that’s belief, and that’s one wild gameplan. For Wilder, though, it was the smart one, and let his talents shine on full display.
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