Luis Ortiz’s comeback fight was quick and emphatic. And the ending was strange.
The heavyweight contender stopped Alexander Flores only 45 seconds into a scheduled 10-round bout Saturday night at Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
The fight was just getting started when Ortiz’s right biceps muscle seemed to hit Flores in the face while he was throwing a hook to the body, putting Flores down.
The Los Angeles area-fighter was able to stand before the count of 10 but he couldn’t continue.
Flores said afterward that he had a problem with his left eye, the apparent result of the arm to the face. He told a FOX reporter that his vision went black and legs went numb.
Ortiz (32-2, 27 KOs) was coming off a seventh-round knockout loss in his rematch with Deontay Wilder in November of last year.
The 41-year-old Cuban was hoping that this fight would lead to another shot at a world title.
Flores (18-3-1, 16 KOs) has had success on the club level but he has failed against top-level opponents. He was also stopped by Charles Martin and Joseph Parker.
